Die Another Day, Live Another Moment
by ThePotatoFamine
Summary: I knew that I was going to die from the start of it all. I failed. My last living moments spent with my oldest friend made me question the beliefs I held so dearly. I expected damnation if it even existed. Fate dictated that I die that day. Something else dictated that I shall live to fight another battle. On Earth, I was a fearless hitman. On Remnant, I shall become a Huntsman.
1. You Only Die Twice

**Disclaimer: RWBY and its characters belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum. Only the OC's are mine. Other characters that are clearly from other fandoms or works are not mine, either, and belong to their respective owners.**

 **Chapter 1: You Only Die Twice**

* * *

"Every man has his folly, but the greatest folly of all … is not to have one."

― Nikos Kazantzakis, _Zorba the Greek_

* * *

When I was a little boy, I had hope. I had hope in the belief that man will be rewarded if they persevere through everything in life. I also believed that man was predispositioned for greatness.

Now, as a man, I found the latter to be naïve and the former to be utter bullshit. My life seemed to have proven that an infinite times over. I've been through hell and back and the most I've gotten was a metaphorical 'pat on the back' for my 'efforts.' Even then, life liked to spit on my face and kick me while I'm already reeling.

As a man, I've always prided myself for my pragmatism and distaste for the naïveté that I've once displayed as a child. The world isn't as innocent as children believe it to be. It might be home to some of the most beautiful things, but the real world harbors some of the most disgusting entities fathomable. Rapists, cartel leaders, dictators. As a CIA agent turned contract killer, I've witnessed firsthand the putrid cesspools that reside within humanity, and I have a goal to eliminate it, however bloody the means might be.

As a dying man, I find it hard to believe that I've begun to question these beliefs.

"In the end, is this what you wanted?" a voice pleaded, bringing my mind back to my current situation. It belonged to my oldest comrade, a man named Barloc. He is the only one I can truly call "brother."

"No, but I surely expected this," I replied with a tinge of sarcasm in my voice.

"Even while you're slowly dying from poison, you have to be a smartass, dont'cha?"

"What ever do you mean?"

"I'll tell you what I mean, you smartass. You raided the home of one of the most prominent crime lords in all of Europe, a man only known as 'Dante the Cold', armed with only two pistols and spare ammo. What more did you expect?"

"That I would have at least shot that bastard in his nuts?"

"That's beside the fact that you killed 97 of his best mercenaries?"

I didn't grace him with a reply. In an attempt to avenge the fallen, I charged into that bastard Dante's home in the countryside of France. I killed all of his goons, but not before he was able to shoot me a few times and injected a toxin into me, before storming off. He didn't want to grace me with a quick death, so he left me to watch myself die a slow death.

 _'I wanted to take you as a prize, so that you can be tortured slowly and painfully, begging for death like poor Emelie. Alas, you are dangerous._ Too _dangerous. You see, I didn't shoot you fatally. It's because I want to impart to you a final little gift from Uncle Dante. This poison will slowly kill you, maybe within an hour, maybe more. It will leave your body mostly paralyzed, but you will not be in pain. I want you to be able to realize that you have failed. The pain will distract you. I want you to agonize over your petty little failure. You will never win this game of mine. I want you to know, in the end, you died in vain. You died for nothing, you little bastard.'_

After he left, I screamed and shouted curses at the heavens. After I lost all the energy to spite the world, Barloc arrived. He was no fighter. I didn't even know he knew what my plan was.

 _'I just knew you were going here, I guessed maybe to talk a deal or maybe a part of your plan to eventually kill him off. When all the guards start running inside, I knew something was wrong. Then everything went to shit. I heard gunshots, noises, explosions even. I stayed back, observing, hoping that you didn't do something stupid. But turns out you went on a massacre,_ alone _, and when I went inside, I vomited from all the fucking blood everywhere. You were able to single-handedly kill 97 trained mercenaries, but to Dante, it was all a game. He let you kill them, and finished you off himself. I didn't know what crazy was until I saw_ this.'

We both knew that killing all those men didn't matter to me if I couldn't kill that poor son of a bitch behind it all. The child in me wondered about the 97 families left with one less family member, inquiring, _'Even if you got him in the end, did they all really have to die?'_

The adult in me knew to leave the philosophy to the shrink.

The current me couldn't resist the questions brewing in my head.

I couldn't lift up my head to look at Barloc, instead staring at the ground next to my face. I noted the contrast of the blood on the otherwise pristine tile floor. My blood. It still hasn't hit me that I was dying.

"Remember in the orphanage back when we were kids, Barloc? I remember that every Halloween I used to dress up as a superhero, like Spider-man or Superman, always spewing out some crap about saving the world, one orphan at a time? Remember?"

Not showing any discomfort at this question, maybe out of respect of a dying man, Barloc snorted out,"Yeah, I remember that you had to dye your underwear red and stole some tights to dye them blue because the caretaker couldn't afford any costumes. Those times were much simpler that now."

"We didn't have to deal with the real world, that's why. Even then I wouldn't have dreamed that I'd end up as a rogue hit-man, or that I'd be dying before I turned 30."

"I don't think anyone would've imagined this crap happening," Barloc replied humorously.

"What happened?" I asked.

"What the hell do you mean?" Barloc uttered.

"I mean, what happened to that kid? What caused him to turn into what I am now? I've become one of the deadliest people on this world. I can name more ways to kill someone barehanded than I can pop stars."

"Suffering."

I raised my eyebrows at his answer, or at least I attempted to, "What?"

"Suffering happened. It does the most intriguing things to us. When the orphanage burned down, we all felt pain. However, you probably felt more pain than any of us. Ms. Conner was always the closest to you, and some of us resented that. During the fire, she managed to save us at the cost of her own life."

"She'd be turning over in her grave if she saw me now," I commented guiltily.

He chuckled, with a twinge of sadness. He continued, "Nevertheless, we all did different things with the pain we felt. Maximilian? He ran away after it all went down. Even now, as an accomplished engineer, he never mentions what had transpired that night. Me? When we learned it was the fault of a arsonist trying to burn down the neighboring building with a rivaling gang, I became a cop so I could prevent it from ever happening again. It was naïve of me, but it led me to become what I am today? You? You-"

I cut him off, "-let the pain turn into hatred. I vowed revenge against the bastards that made this happen. I wanted to be rid of them, the scum they were. I worked in the dark, CIA agent, turned contract killer, turned dead pile of shit. In hindsight... I wonder who the scum really was."

"And this is what happened. I warned you what would become of you. I tried to tell you that-"

"-in the end, it won't be worth it, yadda yadda-," I interrupted him again.

"Still doesn't mean that I'm wrong, you know," this time it me who was cut off.

I didn't reply. In the end, he was right. I was just too afraid to admit it

Barloc said after a bit of silence, "It only takes a bit of time working in the darkness before you become part of it."

"That's why you have to leave. The cops should be coming any minute now. Even if you came in after the bastard left, they'll question you. Witness protection or not he'll find you. He'll hunt you down I refuse to let you become part of this."

"Do you think I care, you ass!?" he bellowed.

That shocked me into a bout of silence.

"Do you think I want to let that bastard run off after ruining my best friend's life! Do you think I give a damn!" he shouted.

"Yeah, but your wife might... and your kids. In the end, you were right. I lost all hope in this world, but you haven't. Live another day. Don't become another me. You can change the world, Barloc."

He stood there in silence. No more words were exchanged, but we both knew what was left unsaid.

 _I will._

"I-I guess this is goodbye, old friend," I managed to squeak out, my sight getting even muddier.

With finality, he promised, "I'll be holding you to that drink you said we'll have."

"When did I promise you a drink?" I managed to croak out with my vision beginning to spin more rapidly.

"Before the fire."

With that, I was left alone.

It finally hit me that I was dying. No more drinking, no more sex. No more fun, no more money. No more of anything, really. I'm going to die alone, with no children to succeed me, and few people that know my story. In my quest for vengeance, I managed to truly make myself alone.

There's no nice way to say it. I lived a horrible life, as a horrible man. Emelie would be disappointed in me. I sure as hell would be if I was her. That thought left a sour taste on my mouth. She always did question my profession back when I was an agent. I told her that I had no regrets. Look where that mindset landed me.

 _From one hell, to another._

"To Hell? No. But maybe to another _mortal coil._ "

Everything faded into nothingness before I could process what I just heard.

* * *

"What the hell!?" I garbled out, scrambling to stand up. That's where I went silent. I shouldn't have been able to stand up, let alone at the speed I did it at. I observed myself. I was still in my suit that I raided the house in, but the lack of bullet holes and blood was disconcerting to say the least.

"Surprised to see that you're still alive, yes?" I heard from behind me.

I turned around briskly. Whatever words that would've left my mouth, however unbecoming, got stuck in my throat before I could vocalize them properly. I saw a figure bathed in light. He wasn't necessarily an imposing figure, but what made my breath catch in my throat was the power, the _aura,_ he was exuding. Angel wings flapped behind him, it, I don't even know anymore. What was truly stunning was the fact that his wings had sheaths of _paper_ instead of feathers. I couldn't see his face; he was masked by a set of curved plates, shaped in a way reminiscent of a bird's head. A halo of fire sat behind his head. Finally, he carried a large white book close to his body.

I finally managed to take in my surroundings. I was standing on clouds, taking on surreal shapes around me. It was like I was standing in a hurricane, except light peeked through the clouds at random intervals, bathing the two of us in light. "Wh-Where am I?" I managed to croak out.

"Where? I cannot really answer that query, because that relies on a sense of place, whether physical or not. In the best sense, you are nowhere, but everywhere. You don't exist in this plane, nor does this place truly exist," The figure answered.

"So like limbo, then?"

"No, because that exists on a different plane. Think of this as more like a 'place' in between places."

"All this crap is hard to understand."

"I know," he—I'm guessing that it's a 'he'— said.

"I still can't imagine why I'm here"

"Yes, I know that, too."

"Well then, Mr. Omniscient, what am I doing here?" I said sarcastically.

Undeterred by my comment, he replied, "It is not what you are doing here, but rather, what you are here for. You are here for reasons that are twofold: you are here for things to be explained to you, and for a task that awaits you."

"Wait, wait, holdup. What do you mean by 'a task'?"

He opened his book and explained, "Exactly what you might think I mean. Your time on Earth was unfortunate, however, it has been written Here that you are to be given a task. I know that you believe you deserve to go to Hell, if you truly believe in the , the afterlife is not ready to welcome you. Neither Heaven, nor Hell, nor even Purgatory have a spot prepared for you. Instead, a different place has a space reserved for you, child."

I divulged this information, and I simply laughed, "This must be some sort of special type of punishment or damnation for all the fucked up things I did. And what's with 'child'? I'm a grown man for crying out loud!"

"Punishment? Take it as you will, but damnation it is not. And I address you as a child because you are a child."

"Is that a quip to my masculinity?"

"No, but your childhood was cut short, was it not? At least, your teenage years. So you shall relive them, at least, in a different way. With much different _circumstances,_ " he explained.

"So is it gonna be like some type of time travel, butterfly effect, Many Worlds type crap? A second chance? A little cliche, if you ask me," I guessed.

"I know. Yet, this isn't necessarily a second chance. I will only say that the setting you shall find yourself in won't be the most familiar."

Before I could speak up, he opened the book and forced it upon me.

"Look into it, read it, and see, you shall."

"Wait, wait, I still have questions! What or who are you? Are you some sort of god or some other type fairy tale bullshit?"

"Hmm... You may refer to me as Raziel. I have but a _remnant_ of hope in you. Enough reposing, though. You have much to do, and much to learn."

With that, he thrust the book into my hands. I carefully read the pages, seeing that they were blank.

"What's this? These pages are blank? Is this a fu..." I trailed off.

I looked up. He was gone. The landscape completely transformed. Instead, I was standing in an alley surrounded by brick houses on both sides. I tried to look back to the book, but I saw that it was gone. Instead, two sets of pistols, a bit more technologically advanced than my former set, replaced it. Reminds me of those hand cannon things from Destiny.

I observed my hands. Gone were the rough calluses that marred my hands, the result of years of rough training and handling. They were smaller now, and I moved them around, slightly amazed by the transformation. I looked into a puddle formed by rainwater beside a dumpster. My hair was long(er) again, going down past my ears. My face cleansed of the scars that have taken residence on my face after years with the CIA. My cerulean eyes stared back at me, a stranger in an even stranger world. The last time I had long hair was when I was 14, right before the fire.

"Goddamn h-" I started, before I heard a commotion from the street behind me.

"Stop those White Fang!" a voice screamed, coming from an elderly man running out of a what I assume to be a bank, chasing after two runners, both wearing some weird ass white masks over their faces and- wait were those _dog ears!?_

They began running into the alley were I was at, so I went and hid behind a trashcan deeper within the alleyway. Oddly enough, as the footsteps neared, they began to die out, indicating that they stopped running. _What in the world are they doing?_

"You smell that, Azure? I smell a dirty little human," a masculine voice declared, with a venomous tone.

My blood froze when I heard that. _What the fuck! They have the senses of a bloodhound, too?_

"Yeah, Jojo, I can smell those bastards from a mile away," a distinctly feminine voice replied

The irrational part of my brain wanted to ask, _'how the fuck can you do that?'_ Instead, I chose to keep quiet, hoping that they couldn't pinpoint my loca-

"I know you're hiding behind that trashcan, you can't fool the nose of a faunus," the female announced.

 _Shit,_ I cursed mentally. I was compromised _. No use in hiding now, might as well take them on._

I left my hiding spot, hands reaching for my new pistols.

"Well what do we have here, it's just a kid, now what the Dust might you be doing here?" the guy with the dog ears asked, the apparent humor permeating his voice.

"This _kid_ is gonna fuck you up, bitchass."

Barloc always knew that my smartass mouth would be the end of me.

"And how are you planning to do that, kid?" the woman, Azure I'm guessing, asked sarcastically. She unsheathed her weapon, a large Japanese odachi with- _Wait is that a gun barrel on the guard?!_

The man, Jojo, pulled out a shotgun with a _fucking sword_ attached to the top of the barrel, and posed it to shoot. Wasting no time, Azure went into a downward slash with her odachi. She put a lot of power into her strike, _too much,_ and that was a perfect opportunity for me. In the narrow alleyway, I used the wall to jump a bit higher and used my other foot to propel the blade deeper into the ground by kicking it downward.

"You bast-" I cut her off with a roundhouse kick to the face, her reaction time too slow to let go of the blade, still stuck on the ground. She seemed to still be conscious, scrambling away from her sword, so I fired two rounds into her torso with my pistols.

"You motherfucker!" Jojo bellowed, beginning to use his shotgun like a sword, not giving me enough time to make sure that Azure was done for. After a few angry slashes, he began to fire at me with his shotgun-sword hybrid, so I took cover around a corner.

"Running away, huh? Just like every other human bastard us faunus have to deal with."

I crouched down. He rounded the corner, his shotgun aimed at me. Before he could fire, I kicked the shotgun from underneath him into his face, using left for stability as I went into a crouching high kick.

"AGHH! Motherfucker gave me a bloody n-" I graciously interrupted him with a heel kick into his solar plexus, making him stumble backwards onto his ass. He tried to fire his shotgun but I sprinted towards him, grabbing the barrel of his shotgun and kicking his hands to make him let go of it. I swiftly knocked him out using the butt of his shotgun to hammer the side of his head.

I threw the shotgun down into the ground. Seems as if the 'welcoming party' for my new life was over.

 _At least I know I retained some of my skills,_ I thought. Suddenly, I heard something shift from behind me. My instincts screamed at me to duck, and I narrowly avoided being sliced in half. I quickly ran away from the figure behind me.

"So that's what Jojo and Azure have been up to, huh. It's shameful they were knocked out by some kid," a deep voice rang behind me.

I turned around. There was another one of those 'White Fang' bastards, same uniform and everything. The only difference was that this guy was much more imposing, large, and muscular. There were tattoos lining his forearms, going from past his sleeves. He held an extremely large sword, a claymore from what I could tell.

"It's a shame that you're a human. If you were a faunus, the White Fang would've had a use for one with your type of skill. Instead, you're a human, and the fact that you were able to knock out two experienced members like it was childsplay speaks volumes of how dangerous you'll be. Because of that, I must kill you," he declared,

"I'd like to see you try," I replied before leaping into action, running straight into him.

"HAH! You think you can beat me like that, kid? You're hilarious!" he guffawed before he attacked, trying to slice me in half.

I ducked under his strike, however, and picked up the shotgun sword beside him, slashing at his ankles. It successfully connected, except that _no blood_ was coming out.

 _What on Earth!_

Before I could do something else, he turned around and went for a downwards slash on my crouching form. I barely blocked his claymore with the body of the shotgun.

He pushed against my blade and taunted, "Where's all your shit talk now, kid?"

It was clear that he was going to win this exchange so I rolled out from underneath his blade and let it hit the ground to my right. I tried to fire, but the weapon seemed to have been empty. He went for diagonal slash at my form, but I was ready. I sidestepped from his strike, crouched and got underneath his guard, and pummeled the butt of the shotgun into his stomach.

"Aghh!" he gasped out. I spun around to get right behind him, clapping his ears as hard as possible, making them bleed. He let go of his weapon, clutching at his bleeding ears.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

He span around and tried to tackle me, but instead I side kicked him in his ribs before he could reach me, stopping him in his tracks. I promptly went and sent a volley of punches into his torso and finished off with a palm thrust into his solar plexus.

"BLURGHH," he spit out. I smirked at my impending victory. He dropped down to his knees panting heavily.

"You're gonna regret this! The White Fang will seek your sorry ass out, teenage brat or not!" he panted out.

"Then let them come," I said with finality, kicking his head hard enough to break someone's neck, but instead it only seemed to knock him out.

I looked back unto my hands and moved them around. I shook my legs off and took in my smaller, younger, body. It will take some time to get used to it. I walked back to where I left Azure. Her uniform was stained with blood, but she was still alive, albeit unconscious.

 _What in the name of God are these people? It's like they have an invisible force field around their bodies. That last guy should be dead by now, but something took the brunt of my force._

A dark figure leaped down from one of the window ledges. I tensed up when it reached for something, and with all the crazy weapons I've been seeing, I knew not to let my guard down. Instead of a bladed monstrosity, it pulled out a flask and began drinking from it.

"You got a lot of balls, taking on those White Fang like that," it—he said, stepping out into the light.

He had medium length gray hair, _red_ eyes, and a matching cape. He wore an odd gray dress shirt and black pants. I noted the large sword tucked away behind him, eyeing him carefully if he made any suspicious moves.

"Easy there, kid, I ain't here to hurt'cha, and if I really wanted to, you'd be halfway to Atlas by now," he commented, taking notice of my tenseness.

"Can't be too careful," I replied shortly. Even if I needed to fight him, I had a feeling that I'd lose to him. The way he carried himself was different compared to the other grunts I just knocked out.

After a bit of tense silence, he said, "Still, I'm no White Fang. I saw that little scuffle of yours back there, but you surprised me with those moves of yours. I was about to come in and break some bones before you managed to knock that first one to hell. So instead, I watched to see what you could do. How the hell does a kid like you have some lethal tricks up his sleeve. Even with Aura, you did some serious damage. I couldn't even tell if yours was unlocked."

"Aura, whats Aura? Some type of magical bullshit?" I replied incredulously.

"What's Aura? Aura is a manifestation of your soul. Sounds like some superstitious mumbo jumbo, but look here, brat, I'm not a very superstitious kind of guy but with the things I've seen, Aura being a part of your soul isn't the craziest thing out there. It's like your body's defense, a force field if you will," he explained, drinking out of his flask from time to time.

 _That explains how those bastards aren't dead,_ I thought, frowning internally.

He interrupted my musings, "So enough of that, I want to know who _you_ are, ya little brat. Few people your age, even hunters in training, are able to knock three experienced White Fang members out like that, and what more, you were looking to kill. I saw your surprise when you went to check that they were still alive, don't deny it. So before I knock you out and drag you to Ozpin, maybe you could explain some of those moves you had back there."

"..."

"... You have until I finish my drink here before I knock your lights out."

"... Would you believe me if I told you that I'm from another world? "

"... I'm not that drunk, now-"

I cut him off, "I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. I was killed but then I was sent here like some type of 'second chance' or redemption. I have no idea what this Aura shit is. I don't know what the hell this 'White Fang' is, either! Here, look at my phone, I have some pictures, I know it's not much but I have nothing else." I pulled out my smartphone and fortunately, there was still battery.

"What type of scroll is that?"

"It's what I call a smartphone, but here take a look."

I handed over the phone to him, with the gallery open. He swiped through the pictures. It had a sparse amount of pictures, some of locations I needed to scout out, or even some of my old CIA teammates partying after a successful op. They were all old: I had no time to take pictures recently with the shit that's gone down.

"Is that supposed to be you, kid?" he asked, pointing at a certain picture of me a few years back. I was happy then, smiling, forgetting about my past, before even more shit hit the fan.

"Yeah, that's me, or at least, was me. I'm supposed to be 29, hell, I don't even know how old I actually am NOW, but here I am. I was a government agent, trained and licensed to kill. After my tenure there, I went into the hitman business."

"It sure looks like you, but for all I know it could be your brother or dad or something. Now who's the other girl over here?" he pointed at the girl next to me, who was taking the picture.

"She's gone."

Silence ensued. He knew not to pry deep into dark memories, and I had a feeling he knew what it was like, too.

"I can't shake the feeling that you're just messin' with me here, kid" he finally said.

"Here, this is the last thing I have, take a look." I pulled out one of the maps I had used to navigate around Europe. I unfolded it from it's small size. It had scribbles and notes drawn on it, part of the process of pinpointing Dante down. It depicted Europe, or at least most of it, with detailed features regarding the landscape and elevation.

"I couldn't have possibly made something this detailed, much less have it on a printed sheet of paper. This is part of my world. Europe: It's only one of 7 continents back home. I'm not lying, hell, even strap me up to a lie detector for Christ's sake! Anything to prove that I'm not bullshitting this!" I pleaded.

"Calm down there, I can't admit that I'm fully convinced, but even this here is a bit too far for someone to be pranking me. Dust, your background story even explains your fighting style and skills. You can't tell anyone else about this kid. I've seen some crazy shit on Remnant, and that might be the only thing keeping your ass alive. Other people will just wanna lock you up into a mental asylum and be done with it," he said.

I sighed with relief. I had gambled a lot on persuading him, the alternative was to lie about it, but that wouldn't get me the answers I needed. Where was I? Who were those people? What is gonna happen to _me_?

I finally managed to utter out, "So what now?"

"I'll have to report to Ozpin about this, and trust me, he might even believe your story more than I do. But for now, I won't tell him the 'world-hopping' aspect of your life. With your skills, I might have to enroll you in Signal-"

"Wait enroll? Like a school? Why?"

"Let me finish, brat. I don't know about where you come from, but there are people, like me, called hunstmen. We're trained to hunt down creatures of Grimm, ugly, soulless beasts that threaten our existence. Schools like Signal or Beacon train people like you to become bonafide badasses, like me. You might not become as badass as myself, kid, but you might come close."

"So I'm gonna be learning to be a glorified monster hunter?" I asked, half sarcastic, half incredulous.

"You have no other choice, with your skills, I'd rather not have another criminal running around. You might've been a hitman, but if my guess is right, your Aura isn't unlocked yet. Even then, I can eliminate you if necessary, whether or not your Aura is unlocked," he vowed.

"I've had enough of killing in my life... I abandoned many things in my quest for strength, but I realize now, those ideals I used to live by, they might've been the differences between life and my death," I answered resolutely. _And hers,_ I thought.

He stood there silently, contemplating what I just declared.

"You might be fucked up, but I sense no deception from you. I'll take you along with me for a few things. Maybe even bring you along for a few missions. Before we take off, kid, what's your name? I have two other brats I have to deal with. Calling you 'brat' or 'kid' all the time won't cut it if we're gonna be working together in the future."

"Can I trust you?"

"Fine, be that way kid. I know your type. Name's Qrow. Qrow Branwen. Now, how about you?" he answered me.

"Call me Abel. Abel Brenton."

* * *

 **A/N Welcome to the end of my first chapter of my first fanfiction! I've always wanted to try my hand at this, back when I was reading lots of Naruto fanfiction, but for the life of me couldn't find the power to start one. But here I am!**

 **I was recently pulled into the world of RWBY and I am quite intrigued by it. I can't say I absolutely love everything about it, nor am I super knowledgeable about the lore. So if you guys have any constructive criticism for me, regarding characterization, sentence structure, plot, grammar, etc. feel free to leave a review or PM me.**

 **Please do not flame, because I'd rather have someone tell me that I suck and explain why instead of just attacking me and pointing out the fact that this is bad.**

 **If anyone noticed, I took Raziel from Peter Mohrbacher's Angelarium. Raziel is not my own creation. His artwork is amazing, and I contemplated using a different angel, i.e. Azrael being the angel of death, or even a mythical figure like Hades, I wanted to acknowledge his artwork and use a personal favorite from his world of angels, Raziel, the angel of mysteries. Go check his artwork out! You won't be disappointed. However, this will probably be the only time Raziel or any other supernatural entities appear.**

 **If I do continue this story completely, know that Abel's semblance will be based on another Abel from a different lore. HINT: 76. That's all I'll tell you.**

 **Barloc's name means hope, if I'm not mistaken. He's the opposite of Abel with their viewpoints. Brenton mean's 'Bryni's town', the former meaning 'fire' in Old English.**

 **Destiny is a trademark of Bungie**

 **Until Next Time!**

 **TPF out**


	2. Of Education, Employment, and Ice Cream

**A/N: Here's the next Chapter of Die AnotherDay, Live Another Moment. Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favs! I'm glad that people have begun to take an interest in my story!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Shashenka: Thanks! And I only had Abel explain everything off the bat because CIA agent or not, he has no intel, nothing to make a backstory out of. It's a different story than if Abel was deployed into Eastern Europe to dismantle a drug smuggling operation. It was clear that he 'wasn't in Kansas anymore' when he saw all the weapons.**

 **He took a gamble when he told Qrow everything, only so that he can learn more about Remnant at a much faster pace instead of having to play his ignorance off as something else. Qrow's too good not to be suspicious in the future if Abel chose to lie. He needs allies and contacts in this world, and as a former agent, he understands the risks. If you read any Naruto Fanfics, Naruto: Blast to the Past has a similar situation where Sasuke tells the Sandaime literally EVERYTHING about the future,** **while Naruto lies low and tells no one. How ironic that it wasn't Naruto who spoke up.**

 **GeneralPerv: Thanks! I've always wanted to do a story where someone from Earth gets plopped into another world! Like Reiteration, by Phailen. I love that story. However, I'd like to have something a bit lighter and more humorous than Reiteration. I do very much like the hierarchy system that was put in place but I'd rather do away with a lot of the political machinations it has.**

 **Doctorn: Thanks for the criticism! I'll try to take that into account for future interactions with Qrow. Also, it is my first story, so I'm still grasping the writing mechanics that come along with writing a narrative story. I was always a good essay writer, not a good story writer.**

 **Quick Note on Abel's appearance: he has long blonde hair, kinda like Chris Hemsworth as Thor, but a tad shorter. He's about 5'7" as of now.**

 **Disclaimer: See first chapter**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Of Education, Employment, and Ice Cream**

* * *

"When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow."

―Ursula K. Le Guin

* * *

 _6 months later_

"So you're telling me... that cause I'm still a bloody 15 year old, at least biologically, that I can't go into that fucking club with you? If I'm old enough to kill, I'm old enough to drink, damnit!" I protested.

"Tough luck, blondie. Junior's gonna be on _my ass_ if I brought _your ass_ into his club. I'm just here to get some intel, I'll be right in and out,' he replied.

"Yeah, and you're gonna down a whole bottle of Vacuan Desert Rose while you're at it, right?" I contested.

Ignoring my comment he said, "Just stay here, keep a lookout on anyone suspicious coming in. Who knows what the White Fang are up to?" Before I could protest, he walked straight into the club.

"Fucking bastard, he knows I've been itchin' to have a drink ever since I came into the godforsaken world," I complained to myself.

I took a gamble on telling Qrow the entire truth. Former CIA agent or not, I had no intel on this world. Any agent plopped into a random op without being briefed is bound to be fucked up. This way, I would get more info on this world quicker, no questions asked. Helps that I have a new 'ally', for a lack of a better term.

Ozpin only knows that I was left alone after my orphanage burned down, conveniently, one _was_ burned down about a few weeks before my arrival, so Qrow just had to falsify some papers to make my existence legal, at least from the Valean Council's point of view. Ozpin probably knows that something's up, but a man like him _must_ have secrets, too, so he should be able to respect mine. If it were anyone else besides Qrow that brought me in, it'd be a much harder sell. I was sweating my balls off during that report of his. I could just remember Ozpin's eyes trying to tear into my soul, seeing if I was any threat to him or to Vale. Fortunately, that coffee addicted bastard trusts that poor sod of an alcoholic, so no more questions were asked.

This world, for a lack of a better term, is much different than Earth. The first time I saw Remnant's moon I blew a gasket! Fighting Grimm is definitely not like fighting people, yet I still took to it like a fish to water. I had survival training from the agency that involved learning how to take down large predators, just in case an op demanded it. Feels like I'm living some sort of fantasy video game sometimes when it comes to the things I do nowadays.

On a different note, Qrow decided to enroll me in Signal, but my reaction to that was a little _less_ than pleasant.

 _"Why the hell do I have to enroll in a bloody school?! I've already had enough of dealing with hormonal teenagers for one life!" I cried._

 _"Tough luck, Abel. We need you to maintain a good cover. Ozpin wanted me to do this, and I agreed. I couldn't care less whether or not you want to do it, so suck it up," he said._

Signal was _interesting,_ to say the least. As much as I'd like to deny it, it wasn't all too bad, and the intel I was able to pick up from history classes was invaluable, alongside some new skills I acquired learning how to fight Grimm. On my first day, I found out Qrow had _nieces,_ whom he told about me (at least how he met me). Suffice to say, I can tell where Qrow gets his somewhat childish attitude from.

* * *

 _5 months ago_

"Nice to meet ya, Abel! My name's Ruby! I heard a lot about you from Uncle Qrow, how you were like 'WAPOW!' and 'POWPOWPOW' against those White Fang, and how you were an orphan, like, that's so sad! I hope you'll be my friend! Yang's always bugging me about not wanting to meet new people, but I like the company of Crescent Rose more! OHHH! That reminds me! Caniseeyourweapon, caniseeyourweapon, pleaseeeee?" Ruby spat out, in one breath

 _'Christ almighty how the hell does Qrow keep up with her mouth?'_

"Umm, okayyy, here ya go, kid. They're a pair of Atlesian dust pistols that I call 'Law and Order.' The-" before I could finish she took them and instantly began _drooling_ over them.

"Oh my Dust! Are these a customized set of the Atlas model-2420s? Look at the laser sights and extended barrels! I can't imagine..." she rambled on.

While Ruby went onto state numerous specifications about them that even _I_ didn't know about, her sister came up beside me, unfazed by her sister's _odd_ mannerisms.

"Sorry about Rubes, she can be pretty hyper when it comes to weapons. Don't even begin asking her about Crescent Rose, she'll take HOURS outta your time. The name's Yang! Yang Xiao-Long! Our Uncle Qrow talked a bit about ya! It's Abel, right?"

Qrow said that I was about Yang's age, and a couple years older than Ruby. I took note of Yang's long, blonde hair cascading down past her shoulders and her vibrant lilac eyes. Her hair seemed to radiate its own type of light. It seemed unreal that these two were sisters, their differences in behavior aside. Ruby had short, black and red hair and silver eyes, much like Earth's moon, a great contrast to the fiery blonde hair Yang possessed.

 _Maybe they have different mothers,_ I thought.

"Like what you see?" she teased, noticing that my eyes lingered upon her form a bit longer than normal.

Ignoring her flirting, I turned to face her, "Abel, Abel Brenton, yeah. Hopefully your uncle didn't say anything too incriminating, or is that too optimistic?"

"Nahhh, he only told you about how he found you beating down some White Fang grunts in an alley, and how you were an orphan. Makes me wanna spar with you! How about it?" Yang offered.

"Ma-" I started before Ruby finally took note of her sister's appearance.

"Yang! Have you met Abel yet? Look at his pistols! They're soooo cool! Do you think he'll let me add some attachments to it? Maybe a grenade launcher? Ooh Ooh I know! A-"

"Slow down Ruby! You haven't even taken Abel out to a date yet, but you're already wanting to play around with his guns!" Yang teased.

Ruby blushed heavily and pulled her hood over her head, "Yangggg, I don't like Abel like that! I just met him! No offense Abel, you're still attractive, wait did I just say that! Why do you always have to tease me Yang!"

"Ooh, you think Abel's cute? This is gold! And I only tease you because you're my cute little sister!" she exclaimed, locking Ruby in a headlock.

"Stop! Stoppitttt!" Ruby protested, flailing around her arms, attempting to escape her sister's grasp, failing miserably.

"Ooh would you look at that Rubes! It's 5 minutes till class starts! Since your first class is on the opposite side of the school, you should get going!" Yang advised, letting her sister go.

"You're right! Seeyalateryang, seeyalaterabel!" she babbled off, before taking off at an inhuman speed, rose petals trailing in her wake.

"Guess we should get going, too, right, Yang?" I questioned.

"Our class is right at the end of this hallway, shouldn't be too long, actually. Let's go!" she exclaimed, starting her journey to the classroom.

I followed right beside her, noting her confidence she carried herself with. Maybe sparring her would be a bad idea, and I'd rather not end up in the ER before I could do anything noteworthy here on Remnant.

"We're here! First day of school, first day to pummel some fresh meat!" she declared, stopping right outside the classroom.

I shuddered. _Definitely a bad idea,_ I thought.

"Ladies first," I said, holding the door open for her.

"Ooh a gentleman! I like man who's _Abel_ to treat a woman with respect," she punned.

We walked right in, taking the seats right next to each other, by the middle of the classroom. The teacher wasn't in the classroom yet, surprisingly.

"I wonder how Signal's really gonna be?" I asked myself. My foot was tapping on the floor with anticipation, regardless of my first thoughts of being re-enrolled into the education system.

The door burst open, a figure, the teacher, striding into class.

 _That-_

"You all should know me by know, but if not, the name's Mr. Branwen. Mr. Qrow or Mr. B works, too. I hope you brats pay attention, or Oum knows what I'm gonna do to you," he announced.

- _cheeky motherfucker._

Qrow looked directly at me, as if to gauge my reaction to his little prank. He didn't tell me he was a _teacher_ out of all things!

"Hey Abel, why's your eye twitching? Oh, and here's that pencil you dropped," Yang said, oblivious to my boiling internal emotions.

I didn't hear her. She tried again, "Hey Abel, what's with you today? Jittery cause it's your first day? Don't worry, us blondes will stick together!"

Qrow's gaze lingered on me, like if he was challenging me to say something, _anything,_ that he can use against me later on.

"..." I stared at him.

"..." he stared right back at me.

"...Dammit Qrow!"

"AHA! Detention for you, Mr. Brenton. My office, right after school. Don't be late," he said, victoriously.

"I'm throwing your flask into a pack of beowulves," I mumbled quietly.

"What was that, kid?" he questioned threateningly.

"Nothing, nothing, Mr. _Branwen,_ " I answered him sarcastically.

At least he's not a complete idiot.

A part of my brain wanted to contest that.

* * *

"So how're things shaping up, kiddo? I hope my nieces weren't too much for you. I know Yang can be a handful, and Ruby is a _little_ too hyper," Qrow inquired. He took the opportunity to talk to me about things during my little 'detention.' Apparently, he just 'forgot' to tell me about his association with Signal in the month we were organizing my things, and it gave him a golden opportunity to find a way to talk to me in private.

"Everything's alright, I supposed. Still settling into this 'new world' thing. It's an odd feeling to be back in school, kind of refreshing, actually. Never really did take the time to appreciate those types of moments before my sudden arrival. I was too hellbent on revenge to appreciate the things around me. It's nice to be relaxing and taking things easy," I explained to him.

"That's good. I'll let you settle in on your own, leave you alone for now. I'll try to find time to teach you a few things, condition you up. That is, if I'm not teaching Ruby or off on a mission," he responded.

"Do you think I can go on an op- I mean mission with you sometime? I'd like to test out my skills and see whether or not I'm up to par by this place's standards," I expressed. Even if the relaxation is nice, my muscles were begging for some type of action. The sedentary lifestyle isn't really for me, especially after all that I've been through. I'd rather not let my training go to waste.

"Hmm... maybe in a few months, Abel. If anything, it won't involve Grimm, because you still have Signal and maybe even Beacon to learn how to kill them. I'll try and bring you along on like bodyguard type things, maybe even some recon," he offered.

"Thanks, Qrow. Anyway, do you think you can unlock my Aura? It's been a full month now that I've been here and it would be useful if I had it."

"Yeah sure, kid. I guess you've earned it. Now kneel down and I'll start," he ordered

I quickly knelt down Qrow put a hand on my shoulder and began reciting a chant.

"For it is by our legacy that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of hope and glory to rise above all. Infinite in potential and unbound by fate, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, liberate thee." At the end, Qrow released a deep breath. I noticed that my body was glowing with a bright blue hue. The power coursing through me was intense, yet, comforting. It was warm and inviting, like sitting next to a fireplace after a long day out in the cold winter. It's like with this power, I could do anything.

"Those are some huge reserves you have there, kid. Probably some of the biggest I've ever seen," he claimed.

"Wow, this energy, this power? Damn if I knew it was gonna feel like this I would've begged you to do it sooner," I replied.

"Put it to good use, kid. Remember what I said when we first met. If you ever become a threat, especially to MY nieces, you'll be dying a SECOND time," he warned.

"I won't let you down Qrow. An alcoholic bastard you might be, but I can tell that you're a good man. Better than me, anyway," I assured.

"You better live up to your promises, kid. I've already staked a lot on you. It'd be a shame if your skills went to waste."

* * *

 _Present Day_

Things at Signal have been shaping up to be fine, indeed. I've already made some new 'friends', if you could call them that, being particularly close with Ruby and Yang. The former had a pretty innocent albeit hyper personality, and it reminded me of how I used to be before the orphanage burned down. Yang was a bit more boisterous than the little rosette, and I could clearly see where Qrow gets the nickname 'firecracker' from. Even though she was a bit on the gregarious side, well as much as a fifteen-year old can be, it didn't cause me any discomfort. I had to force some of my interactions with them, however. It was a bit hard having this many people get closer to me, prying at my insides like I was a science experiment,

Qrow decided that he'd rent out an apartment close to Signal for me. Apparently, the idea of me living with his nieces was a little less than pleasurable, so he fronted the costs. I didn't mind, really. I was thankful for that, since I'd rather have my own place, privacy being one of my most valued things.

Checking the time with my watch, only five minutes have passed since Qrow had gone into Junior's club. I pulled out my newly acquired scroll, a black and gold little thing, a bit different from most scrolls I see around. It a little gift from Qrow after the first term had ended. We were able to figure something out regarding the data on my old Samsung, so my new scroll had all of my pictures, music, hell, even my messages. It was equipped with a few more programs and capabilities than most other scrolls, mainly being advanced encryption and communication. With Qrow being a bit more on the cautious side, he decided to upgrade it so that we were able to have secure conversations if the need ever arose.

I pulled out some wireless earphones and played some music from back on Earth. Those songs were more than that: they were some of my only reminders of my past life, alongside those pictures I showed Qrow.

I closed my eyes and put my head back onto the wall, losing myself to the songs I once had time to enjoy, before everything went to shit and I had to time for enjoyment.

After a few songs, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"We're done here, Abes. Let's get going," Qrow stated, taking a drink from his flask.

"Well, at least you didn't take your merry time in that Godforsaken place," I joked.

"I didn't need to find much out, just some movements here and there in the criminal underworld."

"So now that's done, can you explain what this mission is gonna be?" I questioned. He's taken me on a couple missions here and there to test out my skills, and so far, I'm proud to say that every single one of them went swimmingly well.

"Normally I wouldn't go near that gaudy family, but Weiss Schnee is having a concert tomorrow night at the Vale Central Theater. Normally, they wouldn't need hunters like me to guard events like these, but the White Fang and the Schnees aren't on the best of terms, so we'll be part of the security detail, alongside some other hunters," he explained.

"Still, why the hell would you take a job from them?"

"It was by Ozpin's suggestion. At the end of it, it'll be a good experience for you, and good money if you're into that sort of thing," he replied.

Neither of us said anything after that. He started to walk away from the club, and I fell into step behind him.

 _'God help you Winter.'_

* * *

"Qrow."

"Ice Queen."

"..."

"..."

"Take your lovers spat somewhere else, you childish bastards, we've got a job to do," I commented.

"I'm not that drunkard's/gaudy Ice Queen's lover!" they both exclaimed, both turning to face me, faces red, not with embarrassment, but with ire.

"And you're synchronized too? That only happens when you're 10 years into the marriage! Qrow, you cheeky bastard, why didn't you tell me about this sooner! I could've bought you a late wedding present!"

"We're not married!" they said in tandem, yet again.

They growled at each other, "Stop saying what I say!"

A voice came up from a behind us, "Stop with your petty shenanigans, Qrow, Ms. Schnee. If you have any grievances, please address them outside of my property. Your presence here is to be kept _strictly professional._ "

"Yeah, yeah, Charlie, I'll keep it very _professional_ here for you," Qrow said, turning to Charlie, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'll personally see to that. I'm the one who hired you, therefore I reserve the right to _fire_ you if I see fit," Charlie, um I mean, Charles Indigo, warned. Qrow must have a rebellious streak among the high class, regularly pissing off the Schnees and already managing to vex the owner of the Vale Central Theater.

"And Winter, although you're personally here to watch your younger sibling's concert, I do warn you if any harm befalls my property, I will throw you out of my establishment, Schnee or not," Indigo addressing Winter now.

"I will be on my utmost behavior, Mr. Indigo, but I can't guarantee that of this _ruffian_ whom you decided to hire," the Ice Queen stated.

"Leave his behavior to my concern, Ms. Schnee. Ruffian he might be, but he is an accomplished hunter. Even that, you cannot deny," Indigo assured.

"I understand, Mr. Indigo," Winter respectfully replied. "If you will excuse me, I will go pay a visit to my sister, she's much better company than this drunk buffoon, understandably."

Qrow quipped, "You know you'll miss me, Ice Queen, don't try and deny it."

"Hmph."

With that, she promptly walked out of the theater lobby. She'd be pretty hot if she wasn't such a stuck up bitch. I sincerely hope her sister isn't like her.

"Why must you always antagonize Winter, Qrow?" Indigo questioned scoldingly.

"She's just a gaudy princess, if she wasn't so damned stuck up, it'd be much better to be around her," Qrow explained.

Indigo just shook his head at his reply. "Your odd dynamics with Miss Schnee aside, who might this young man be? You said you would bring a companion, however I did not expect him to be of such a young age," he asked, turning to me.

Taking that as my cue to introduce myself, "My name's Abel, Abel Brenton, sir. Don't worry about my age, I'll be sufficient enough to guard Weiss."

He put out his hand and I shook it. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Brenton. You may refer to me as Mr. Indigo. Qrow might not be the most _reliable_ person, but if he vouches for your skill level, then I'm not one to question you. I hope your duration at the Vale Central Theater will be most pleasurable: at least, the most pleasurable a security detail can possibly be."

"I don't expect anything less than that, Mr. Indigo," I expressed.

He looked down at his watch. "Sorry to cut our meeting short, but I must get going. I'll send someone out to guide you to where the rest of the security detail will be. Just don't break anything on the way there. I'm looking at you, Qrow."

"Don't worry, Charlie, I'll be very _delicate_ with your property," Qrow assured, albeit a bit sarcastically.

After Indigo left to go into another room Qrow quipped, "You were a total kissass right there, kiddo. I've never heard you call anyone else by 'Mister' or even 'missus.' I even hear you calling people by 'bastard' more often."

"It's a job, and unlike you, I haven't proven my worth to any of these people yet. I'm not trying to inflate your ego here, but the only reason people take you seriously is because you're one of the best hunters around. Now imagine how clients would react to a fifteen year old acting like you," I explained my reasoning to him.

"Fair enough kid, you're actually pretty smart, even though you're a brat half the time I'm with you. I wonder where our personal 'escort' might be?" he said, taking a swig from his flask

A feminine voice came from one of the doorways opposite of us, "Right here, Mr. Branwen. I'm Cyan Zephyr, I'll be the one escorting you to the head of security."

She was a petite little thing, with medium length cyan— what else?— hair with a dark blue clip in it. She was about 5'2" in height, wearing a white dress shirt with a dark blue bowtie, alongside a black skirt with gray stitching at the edges.

"Lead the way, Miss Zephyr," I offered.

"Please, just call me Cyan, Mr. Brenton. I'm only a few years older than you. Calling me 'Miss' makes me feel old," she politely requested.

"Certainly, if you can do the same for me, Cyan."

She smiled warmly, "Of course, Abel."

We began walking through the theater, winding around the facility. I took note of all the ornate paintings, vases, and art that were scattered throughout it.

 _Very high class, indeed_.

Qrow was drinking out of his flask, muttering something unintelligibly. The only thing I could catch was something about 'blond bastards.'

After a few minutes or so, we arrived at a gray metal door with black metal lettering spelling out 'SECURITY.'

"We're here Mr. Branwen, Abel. The head of security, Mr. Smith is waiting for you inside. I'll be taking my leave, now. Mr. Smith will provide you with my personal Scroll number if you two need anything more in particular," she politely stated.

"Thank you very much Cyan, it was a pleasure meeting you," I said.

"Likewise, Abel, Mr. Branwen, I hope your tenure here at Vale Central Theater will be delightful, no matter how brief it may be. So long!" she sent me one last smile and walked out of the hallway back into the maze that was the theater.

Qrow piped up after a moment or two of silence, "You can go on break Abel, get some food or something. Smith told me he'd be needing only one of us for now, I'll handle things here."

"I'll find some lunch then, old man. Don't piss off any more rich people while you're at it!" I exclaimed, walking out of the hallway, back through the maze and out into the lobby.

 _'There were a few good places around here to catch a bite, there was this one pizza restaurant, and there was also that ice cream parlor...'_

* * *

I arrived right outside the ice cream parlor, right after I took a bit to eat at Greene's Pizzeria around the block.

Before I walked in, however, I heard some voices in the alleyway right next to the shop. I wanted to leave it alone, and be on my merry way. I had nothing to do with the problems plaguing Vale. A part of me, however, refused to stand by.

"Why you little, it was you! I'll fuck you up, you cunt!" I just managed to hear over the cars in the street.

I froze in place. Throughout all my years of being an agent, I saw some pretty horrific things. Teenage girls getting trafficked, kids being kicked out onto the street, bloodied and broken, homeless children huddling around makeshift fires for warmth. I never put out a helping hand then, so why do it now?

I walked into the shop, mouth drooling over the selections they had to offer.

"Welcome to Ciel's Ice Cream Parlor, home to every flavor under the sky! What can I get for you, young man!" the cashier greeted me.

 _'The brownie batter flavor seems pretty interesting, ooh is that cookies and cream?'_

A different part of me screamed, _'What the fuck are you doing! Are you just going to let that happen! What would Barloc say! What would_ **_she_** _say!'_

"Young man, don't hold up my line, I don't have all day you know!"

"Ohh sorry Miss, I was just thinking of what to get!"

 _'So, a sundae? Or a shake, maybe?'_

 _'DO IT!'_

"If you can't decide on what you want young man, you can step to the side and let the other customers order." I noticed a small line building up behind me.

"No problem, miss, I just noticed I must've forgotten my wallet back with my Uncle, I'll be right back!"

I noticed some of the customers grumbling, obviously annoyed at the fact I held up the line for nothing.

"Next time, make up your mind before you get in line, brat," a tall guy with ginger hair and a silver colored t-shirt complained.

"Sorry, bro, I won't do it again" I said between my teeth, trying to hide my anger from the other customers.

"Just make sure of it, chump."

That guy pissed me the hell off.

 _'Ciel's Ice Cream Parlor, you can wait.'_

I walked out of the shop around into the alley and saw a crowd of large men surrounding someone. They were all facing away from me. I couldn't see who it was behind the conglomeration, but I heard whimpers and noted a cone of spilled ice cream by a nearby garbage can.

 _'Neapolitan flavored, huh.'_

"What was a thing like you doing out here all alone? You must be looking for some trouble, right lass, stealin' from us? Now you're gonna pay for it, one way or another, savvy?"

 _'A girl? That spells a lot of trouble.'_ I thought grimly. I already knew what they were planning to do, and it disgusted me. I might've been a trained killer, but I drew the line when it came to the innocent and unprotected.

They didn't notice me yet, but I still took refuge in a doorway, taking my pistols out and took out some tranquilizer darts modified to fit the magazines for the guns. I'd rather not be dealing with the authorities. Questions WILL be asked if they somehow find a bunch of corpses on the side of an ice cream parlor.

 _'Thank Ruby for her weapon fetish'_

I looked around and counted the amount of men surrounding the downed girl.

 _'Six, I don't even need my other gun for this. Time to do my good deed of the week_ _'_

After I loaded one gun with exactly 6 darts and put the other one away, I went out back into the alley and took aim.

"One." A body hit the floor limp.

"What the hell was that Ji-!"

"Two." The offending voice died down after I shot him in the back of the neck with a dart.

"Wait what?! George, what happened!"

"Three." Another body dropped down.

The other three finally turned around and took note of my presence. Three left, three nameless faces to go.

"You little cunt! We'll whoop your arse!" the one on the right screamed.

They all began to run towards me at full speed, intent on tackling me down to the ground.

 _'Amateurs.'_ I sprinted towards them, giving them a false sense of hope that they'd actually get me.

"We have you, you little prick!" the one in the middle growled. They all reached out to get me, but I dropped down and slid between their legs. I instantly got back up and shot the two on the side with some more darts.

"Four. Five."

"You little bugger! I'll make you pay for that!" the last one screamed at the top of his lungs.

"You know, ever since I got here, I've been hearing that. Nothin's happened to me yet, so come try me," I taunted, walking towards my quarry casually.

"Why you cocky little-" I cut him off with a harsh kick to his ribs and pistol whipped his stomach.

"AGH!"

Pointing the end of the barrel back towards him, I fired.

"Six."

I took note of all the bodies crumpled on the ground, appreciating that my aim was still impeccable. I looked back to the girl they were harassing. She was a small little thing, maybe 4'6" in height. She had an odd mix of hair, brown on one side, pink on the other with white highlights around. She was wearing a slightly roughed up pink skirt alongside an unzipped white sweater over a black tank top. She was wearing some white flats, splattered with dirt from being on the ground. Her most striking feature was her heterochromic eyes, one brown, one pink. A tattered and holed umbrella was lying next to her, obviously broken.

 _'Neapolitan ice cream, neapolitan themed girl. Remnant's filled with some weird ass shit.'_

I wanted to just leave the alley and be done with it. The same part of me that made me do this in the first place resisted, though. Against my rational thoughts, I walked towards her.

She tensed up when I began to near her. "Relax, Ice Cream, I'm not gonna hurt you. That's the last thing I'd do after I knocked all their lights out," I assured.

Her form loosened after my reassurance. I offered her my hand and brought her up. I took her umbrella and observed it.

"This thing's pretty messed up, I'll have to get you a new one. But before that, I was gonna get some ice cream. Seeing that those bastards spilled your cone, why don't you come with me and I'll grab ya a new one?" I offered.

Her face instantly lit back up, and she fervently nodded. She was bouncing up and down in glee after I offered to replace her frozen treat.

"Hey, hey, no need to be so giddy. It's the least I can do to fix your day," I tried calming her. I failed, however, and she instantly began to skip towards the shopfront for the parlor.

"Hey, hey! Wait up there, Ice Cream!" I yelled out at her.

 _'I have a feeling that I just threw myself into a whole can of shit right now."_

* * *

"So little Miss Ice Cream, what's your name?"

"..." she took my scroll that I was holding, all while still eating her ice cream with her other free hand.

"Hey! Give that back!" I protested.

She put out a finger as if to say 'wait' and began typing on it. When she gave it back, I saw that she wrote her name out on a scribbling app.

"Neopolitan, huh. Pretty damn fitting if you ask me! I must say, it's pretty cute," I teased. She pouted and blushed moderately, poking me in the chest as if to say 'don't you dare call me that.'

"Hey, I call it as I see it. My name's Abel, Abel Brenton, certified badass. Well, at least as badass as a fifteen year old can be. Say, how old are you?"

She looked up for a few seconds, and then put up one finger followed by six more.

"Wow, so you're actually older than me? That's weird as hell. I'm almost a full foot taller than you and I just turned fifteen!"

She pouted at that last part, clearly annoyed at the unintentional insult at her stature.

"So how're you enjoying that little sundae of yours?" I asked after a few bites of my own.

Her face lit up and she put out two thumbs up, giddy with happiness. The way she devoured that sundae made it seem like she hadn't eaten in days. Maybe she really hasn't, now that I think about it. Her clothes were pretty dirty and it seemed like she hadn't cleaned them in a while.

I felt bad for her, so instead of a normal cone, I bought her a deluxe sundae, alongside my own non-deluxe sundae. Mine was brownie batter flavored, while her's was obviously a mix or strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla. I swear that there was no way she could've looked more cute and happy then when I surprised her with the desert. She was like a puppy, I swear.

After we both finished our respective deserts, I turned to her, "So the question still lingers, what happened back there?"

Neo looked at me, still licking her spoon clean, and her face darkened.

"Let me guess, you decided to come here to treat yourself to some ice cream, right? It's probably been a while since you've ate something substantial?"

She nodded, confirming the story so far.

"You didn't have enough enough money, however, so you pickpocketed some guy for some lien."

She nodded, albeit a bit more slowly, much like a child would if she had to admit that she broke the living room vase.

"After you bought a cone, they found you, pushed you into the alley, and roughed you up. They must've broken your umbrella sometime during the scuffle. Does that mean you were trying to fight?"

She nodded again. At this point, there was no more need to get into the details concerning what they wanted to do to her.

"So, were you too weak to properly fight back?"

This time, she looked down to the ground sourly, speaking volumes of what she thought of her own inability.

"Hey, hey, no need to get all doom and gloom on me, Neo. But tell me, do you want to get stronger?" I didn't know what I was doing getting all philosophical with a teenager and crap, but then again, everything that I just did today was out of impulse.

She had a thoughtful look on her face before she nodded resolutely.

"Now that's good! See, Ice Cream, one step at a time."

I knew full well what I had to do to get stronger. I've spilt blood, shed tears, and went through hell and back to become what I am Or at least was, before I died. I knew the only reason I was so effective as both an agent and a hitman was because of my anger and then later on, my desire for revenge. But that's all gone now. Dante's a world away. There's nothing I can do now.

"Now, you have to find a reason to get stronger, right? Mine is so I can become a hunter!" I half-lied, knowing that I still didn't know why I truly wanted to get stronger in this world. Maybe it's to make it up to Qrow, or maybe even continue my work eradicating the scum of humanity here. I don't know.

"So, Ice Cream, what's yours?"

Neo looked at me thoughtfully, but she shrugged honestly after a few moments.

"That's all alright. Hey, look, it's barely past two o'clock so let's go and get ya a new umbrella! We can talk more about this later on. Man I feel old talking about all this nonsense!"

If she only knew.

* * *

Neo looked at the boy walking in front of her. He seemed like he was just that: an ordinary boy. But that little spiel he had back in the ice cream bar wanted to prove that wrong. He might act like he was carefree, but she knew something was lurking underneath his surface. She noticed all the empty looks and longing gazes he put off into the distance. She knew that he wasn't really telling the full truth on why he wanted to get stronger.

"Hey Neo, hurry up a bit, the department store's a bit far away, so pick up the pace!" she heard him call out to her.

She knew that he was already strong, taking down those men all by himself like that. Why would he need to get stronger? She was still pondering the question he posed to her back at Ciel's.

 _"So, Ice Cream, what's yours?"_

She couldn't really tell what it was. Little did she know part of the answer stood right in front of her.

She opened up her a note:

 _If you ever need help, Neo, just come to me. We'll work something out. You might be a bit lacking in the skill department, but hey, a few years with me should do the trick. The real world is cold, and you know that. It doesn't care about morals, it doesn't care about your spirit._ _I'll teach you to lie, steal, cheat and survive._ _Do you really want to live the rest of your life alone and weak? Or do you want to get stronger?_

 _-R_

She looked from the note, and to Abel. She knew that the boy was strong, but she had questions of her own. What's with those empty looks? Why can he go from acting like a child to acting like a grown man in seconds? She had never seen anyone like him. He was a mystery, an intriguing puzzle, and he gave her aid, even if he didn't really need to, and that was enough reason.

She tore up the note and walked faster to catch up to Abel.

"Hey, you shouldn't be littering like that! Don't let the cops catch you! No matter, let's go find you a new umbrella."

* * *

 **Omake: Qrow's Affliction: Based off of Coeur Al'Aran's Professor Arc Omake in Chapter 31**

After a few minutes or so, we arrived at a gray metal door with black metal lettering spelling out 'SECURITY.'

"We're here Mr. Branwen, Abel. The head of security, Mr. Smith is waiting for you inside. I'll be taking my leave, now. Mr. Smith will provide you with my personal Scroll number if you two need anything more in particular," she politely stated.

"Thank you very much Cyan, it was a pleasure meeting you," I said.

"Likewise, Abel, Mr. Branwen, I hope your tenure here at Vale Central Theater will be delightful, no matter how brief it may be. So long!" she sent me one last smile and walked out of the hallway back into the maze that was the theater.

Qrow began to mutter to himself, "How, I just don't understand. Does it have to do with the hair? Maybe the eyes?"

"Qrow, you're talking to yourself right now. Your age is showing."

"Shut it, Abel! I'm not that old! And you know what I'm going on about? It's because every damn time I meet a blond brat like you, they're all smooth and the opposite sex always has to flock around you! You're fifteen years old, Oum-dammit, and you're already on your way to becoming like _him._ "

"Wait, wait, is this about Cyan? I just did the gentlemanly thing, Qrow! Maybe it's cause you're always drunk, you twat!" I argued.

He ignored me, "In the time it takes me to finish my flask, that blond bastard will have more ladies around his arms than the Schnee have dust."

"Now wait just a minute, that's an exaggeration if I've ever heard one. Are you jealous that Tai got more action than you? And maybe, if you acted your age, women like Winter would actually take an interest in you!"

He ignored me yet again, "It has to be that innkeeper's skirt, it has to be. It has damned me to an eternity of suffering. And you!" He fixed the most loathsome glare to me.

"Don't get any quick ideas, Qrow..."

"If you mention that gaudy Schnee's name again, I will _accident_ you," he threatened.

 _'I thought he was ignoring me?'_ I sweatdropped.

"Hey, don't hate me cause you know for a fact you can't get into Winter's panties— excuse me, I mean _lingerie."_ I joked, unknowingly signing my life away to the Grimm Reaper of Vale.

I heard the gears turning on Qrow's scythe.

"Shite."

* * *

 **A/N: Welcome to the end of Chapter Two of Die Another Day! I'm so glad that my story actually sparked some interest in you guys! Anyway, to clear up some confusion, Abel turned fifteen only recently. I'll still keep Yang and Weiss at 14 years old, with Ruby at 12. This means that this arc is happening around 3 years before canon.**

 **About the arc! This arc will mainly deal with Abel, Weiss, Neo, and the security detail at the concert. You can already tell what's gonna go down during the concert if Qrow's explanation for the security detail was anything to go by. Anyway, this is a bit shorter than my goal of 8k words, but I think it should do for an introduction to a new story arc.**

 **In regards to Neo: I decided to make her 2 years older than Team RWBY, although in canon I feel like she can easily be 20 years old. Even though 3 years might be a little short for Roman to actually train her, I did it in order to fit Neo into the story.**

 **Take note even though she wasn't able to take on 6 grown ass men alone, it doesn't mean she's not skilled. I'll make my version of her strong enough to hold her own, but limited by her own emotions and self-perception. I feel like before meeting Roman, she had no sense of direction. Instead of Roman, however, I placed the task onto Abel to develop her, he just doesn't know it yet, mwahahahahaha!**

 **As much as I love team RWBY and JNPR, I'm intrigued by the villains in the story, especially Neo. I wanted to see if I could do her some justice and create my own backstory for her. On another note, Cinder and Emerald don't spark as much interest in me as Neo, Torchwick, and Mercury do.**

 **Also, this is NOT an SI story. Abel is blonde and long haired and utterly badass, I'm a not-badass Asian guy. I am not trying to emulate myself in this story, although at times my personality can bleed into Abel's, however, I am not doing this as type of self-glorification or wish fulfillment. If anything Marty-Stu comes up, please let me know. I will try my best to correct it.**

 **Next Chapter's estimated release date: 8/20**

 **Till next time! TPF out!**


	3. Tinder

**A/N: Welcome to the latest chapter of Die Another Day, Live Another Moment! Here's another chapter for you, actually up to the 8,000 word length I wanted to go for!**

 **Shashenka: Thank you so much! I've seen some stories that have incorporated Neo, but have never really properly explained her backstory. There's this one JauneXNeo story (you can probably guess which one) that has a similar situation with Neo meeting the protagonist, but it was honestly much less believable that she had to be saved. Overall, I haven't seen any stories whatsoever (maybe it's just cause of a lack of looking) that catch Neo considerably far before canon.**

 **Doctorn: Thanks! I'll try to keep Qrow consistent, a bit childish, a bit mature, always drunk and always out to piss Winter off. However, I'll be focusing more on trying to show the difference facets of Abel's personality, part teenager, part stone cold killer. Even though Abel is trying to abandon his pessimistic beliefs about life once he died, it doesn't mean his mindset changes just as fast. You'll see that right here in this chapter! Get prepared for it!**

 **Cookie: Thanks for your interest! I did say I wasn't too interested in some of the other villain's backstories but I did not say I wasn't planning on addressing them. Before I thought up of the interaction with Neo, I was planning on having a scene were Mercury and Emerald meet Abel outside the club. However, this did not happen since after a little research I found out Cinder's attack on Amber happened actually a bit recently, within a year before canon, with the interactions with the White Fang during the Beginning of the End indicating it. However, this plan hinges on the fact that the Black Trailer happened very recently before canon, so I might be wrong, alongside the fact that the time frame Cinder operated during could be more extended than I think.**

 **Disclaimer: See first chapter**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Tinder**

* * *

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

― Plato

* * *

"You must really be enjoying yourself with that thing," I chuckled. It was evident that she had instantly took a liking to her new toy, twirling it around and occasionally bopping me on the head with it.

"You don't talk much, do you Neo?" I asked. She shook her head and resumed her shenanigans.

"Hey don't abuse your benefactor!" I joked after she giddily poked me in the side with the damned thing.

I checked my watch. It was about three-thirty in the afternoon. Although I have probably overextended my 'break' for too long, I had no urge to go back to Vale Central Theater. It was a pleasant day out, not extremely hot nor cold, and spending time with the ice cream themed girl was refreshing. Maybe it was because of her silence, or her childish attitude, I don't know.

My scroll suddenly vibrated, _'Damn, I jinxed it, didn't I.'_

 _'Meet me back at the theater in half an hour. They're gonna start a dress rehearsal soon, so it'd be best to be here so you know what you'll be doing tomorrow.'_

 _-Qrow_

Damn, I didn't want to go back. This outing, as rough as it started, was admittedly very enjoyable for me. I didn't really do anything with my free time besides go with Qrow on missions, so it was a breath of fresh air. I looked over to Neo, happily skipping on the sidewalk, twirling her umbrella around and looking at the shop windows. I didn't want to leave her, but sooner or later I had to. I just didn't know how I'd actually tell her.

"Hey Neo, let's walk back to the Vale Central Theater. I have some business to attend to there, so let's get going!" I spoke up.

 _'Damn, why am I letting her tag along with me? It's supposed to only be me and Qrow for Christ's sake!'_

She nodded, pointing her umbrella towards our front, indicating for me to take the lead. I walked on ahead, my thoughts brewing chaotically in my head.

Something happened at the department store that made my stomach churn and my head throb violently. I couldn't shake of the foreboding feeling it gave me.

 _'Why was he here?'_

* * *

 _30 minutes ago_

"Young sir, you were looking for a new, umbrella, yes? Here's a standard black nylon umbrella. It will set you back at right about fifty lien." He handed me a standard black umbrella.

"Perfect! Where can I pay, sir?"

"Just follow me young sir, I will take care of you."

Neo and I walked right behind the store clerk, eyeing the various merchandise. Designer handbags dotted the walls, dresses neatly placed on the many racks organised neatly on the shop floor. The place screamed 'high class' and I had to fend away some glares sent our way. Fortunately, the store clerk did not care about our age or appearance, but was rather enthusiastic in helping us out.

When we reached the counter, something caught my eye behind the counter. In a display case was an umbrella: a very remarkable piece of craftsmanship if I dare say. It was an extremely lovely umbrella, translucent throughout, ornate patterns in pink, brown, and white decorating it. I looked over to Neo and she was enamored. She gazed longingly at the veritable piece of art, like a child looking at a toy through the window, parents unable to buy it for them.

"How much is the umbrella behind you, sir?" I questioned.

"Young sir, it would come up to around two-hundred and seventy-five lien."

I whistled at that, "Wow, that's a tough sell."

"It is part of a limited edition Le Coeur et L'âme collection, straight from Mistral's finest boutiques," the middle aged clerk explained.

I looked back at Neo. Her eyes never wandered back towards us, her mind off on another world.

Ever since Qrow took me on my first mission, he was impressed. Impressed enough to keep taking me on missions repeatedly, sometimes even weekly, and with so many missions I piled up quite a bit of lien. I didn't really spend much outside of the occasional set of clothes and restocking Law and Order's dust rounds, so my bank account remained rather inflated. Qrow never stopped paying for my rent, too, either too drunk to remember or too lazy to actually care.

I had no reason to buy the umbrella, though. I barely met the girl a few hours ago, but I couldn't understand why I had the urge to please her so much. Maybe it was because she reminded me of myself back when I had to scrounge for food and money, or maybe I'm just going mad. However, I led a horrible life back on Earth. I have a new life, now. It was time to atone.

"I'll take it sir. I'll replace the other umbrella with it."

Neo finally tore her eyes away from the umbrella, and looked at me. Her eyes widened considerably, her mouth slightly agape.

"Are you sure, young sir? It costs quite a hefty amount, especially for someone your age," he stated, no doubt believing that I would have difficulty paying for it.

"Nonsense, it will do just fine," I assured, handing out the lien notes to pay for it. "I'm also looking for a suit for an event tomorrow, maybe something semi-formal. I'll be attending Weiss Schnee's concert as part of the security detail."

"Oh, so you must be a huntsman-in-training I assume? Worry not, let me just finish this transaction and I'll page someone from the clothing department take you and your lady-friend over to the formal-wear section."

I looked around and saw a few customers sending me and Neo some murderous looks. They must be questioning how I had the funds to pay for the umbrella at such a young age. More prying eyes were placed onto Neo than me, however, making her visibly uncomfortable; No doubt she noticed all the disdain they had for her.

 _'Ignorant fools, just because she isn't dressed like you means that you're in a position to scorn her.'_

I looked back down at Neo. She was pulling at the sleeves of her dirty white sweater, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. When she noticed my eyes taking note of her face, she looked down, attempting to hide her unhappiness. It was clear that she didn't belong due to the difference in appearance. Even I was dressed more cleanly, with a plain blue dress shirt and grey pants alongside some brown oxfords. Not too shabby, but clearly enough to distance myself from Neo in the eyes of the other patrons.

I didn't know what overcame me that moment. Maybe I wanted to piss those rich bastards off even more, or maybe I just wanted to rub it into their faces that I can outdo them.

"And while you're at it, can you take Miss Neopolitan here and find her an assortment of dresses and casual wear fitting for a beautiful lady like her? I'll front the costs."

The clerk's eyes widened a bit, mouth hanging open, but then he smiled warmly. "Certainly, kind sir. Miss Neopolitan, would you follow me, please?"

I noted a few incredulous glances sent my way, as if I just insulted their snobbiness by offering to buy Neo some new clothes.

Before they went, however, she barreled towards me and engulfed me in a bone-shattering hug. She looked up at me, visibly tearing up, and then put her face into my chest.

I smiled, putting my hand on top of her head. "Come on now, Neo, go on before I change my mind. Go with him there and find some clothes that you like."

She let go of the embrace and nodded ecstatically, turning around and running off after the store clerk.

"Tha' was a kind thing ya jus' did there, lad." I heard from behind me. I looked around and my face visibly darkened with rage.

"You! You were one of those bastards in the alleyway! What the hell are you doing here!? Where are the rest of your friends?" I growled. "I was sure I put enough tranquilizer in those darts to put you to sleep for more than a few hours."

"Ya can relax, kid, I mean ya no 'arm," holding his hands up in a sign of peace. He was holding a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other. I wasn't convinced of his 'benevolent' intentions.

I narrowed my eyes, "If you're here for some petty revenge on Neo, you'll have to get through me."

"I'm not 'ere fer the lass, either, kid," he reassured.

"Then what the hell are you here for?"

"To deliver a message."

"Go on," I ordered, my muscles still tense with anticipation of an attack, hands reaching behind me, towards my pistol.

"There are only shadows whe' there is the light, lad."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is that supposed to be a threat?" I growled.

"Take it as ya will, lad. I'll be off na'," he said, his form retreating behind a set of coat racks next to him.

"Motherfucker," I uttered, dashing towards the racks, rounding the corner.

 _'He'll get a piece of me when-'_

He was gone. He was nowhere in sight. He basically just vanished! I looked around and listened if I could hear any heavy footsteps around me. It didn't help. All I could hear was the lively chatter of a few ladies talking about the latest fashion show.

"Goddamnit," I muttered under my breath.

"Are you okay there, young sir? You seem quite shaken up. I was sent down to help you choose a suit for your event, but that can wait. Do you-"

"I'm okay, miss," cutting her off. "Let's go find something for the concert tomorrow."

She didn't seem convinced, but she didn't pry further. "Certainly, young sir. If you could follow me."

When we walked to a different section, a questioned lingered in the back of my head, causing it to throb painfully. _'Just who was he?'_

It didn't matter at the end of it.

 _'If anyone tries to hurt me, or hurt any of my new friends, I will end them. Barloc, I might not have you here, but damn myself if I'm not able to protect the people around me. I refuse to let anyone become another Emelie. I don't care what it takes.'_

* * *

 _Now_

I was struggling with carrying all the bags that held Neo's new clothes and my new suit. She was wearing a brand new white dress with brown floral patterns adorning the whole piece. At first she only wanted to buy a few cheap blouses and skirts, but I waved her off and told her to buy as much as she wanted. Besides, I was going to get paid tomorrow, anyway. Why let money sit around?

We strolled up to the front of the Theater, Qrow and Cyan waiting for us on the steps.

Cyan giggled, "Well would you look at that! Young Abel here has already made a friend! A rather pretty one, I might say!"

"Who's this here, kiddo?" Qrow questioned, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Her name's Neo. She's a friend, Qrow. Met her on my way to Ciel's Ice Cream Parlor." I looked at him meaningfully, silently adding, _'I'll tell you later.'_

"Cyan, can you take Neo around the Theater while me and Qrow work on guard duty? Maybe even have her listen to Ms. Weiss while she's practicing?" I requested.

"Of course," Cyan replied warmly. "If you could follow me, Miss Neo. I'll also have someone sent down to carry your bags for safekeeping, Abel."

"Thanks Cyan!" I bode her, leading Neo into the Theater. Someone came soon after, taking all the shopping bags out of my hands.

After a bit of tense silence, Qrow piped up, "So you mind explaining to me just who that is?"

"Relax, Qrow. There were some bastards outside the parlor harassing her. I decided to take matters into my own hands and handed their asses to them," I explained.

"How about all the bags?"

"I felt bad for her. She reminded me of myself back when I was young. Did I ever tell you that I was an orphan, Qrow? I never really knew what it was like to have material things like toys and clothes. So yeah, I saw myself in her when I met her. She didn't seem to have eaten in a while so I treated her to some ice cream. The bastards broke her umbrella, too, so we went to the department store. I got my suit for tomorrow, too, alongside with some clothes for her, cause she looked like she hadn't cleaned hers in days."

Qrow didn't say anything immediately after that. He looked at me for a bit, then sighed, "Okay, kid, whatever. I can understand the feeling, especially because of Yang and Ruby. Don't let your generosity get to you, though, kiddo."

"I won't, old man. Now, let's get going."

We began to walk up the stairs to the theater.

"So... Neo huh? She seems like a nice girl, I wonder what your plan is with her?" He teased.

"Damnit Qrow! She's only sixteen for Christ's sake!"

* * *

We finally reached the security room. Qrow opened the door and we both walked in. There were numerous sets of TVs displaying the security cam feeds. There was a large dark skinned man with short gray hair waiting for us in his seat.

He stood from his seat."Qrow! You're finally back." He turned towards me, "Is this your companion whom you spoke of? Why greetings! My name's Noire Smith, but please address me as Noire."

He put his hand out towards me. I stepped up and shook his hand firmly. "My name's Abel, Abel Brenton. Huntsman-in-training."

We broke the handshake a few seconds later. "Splendid! So I already explained to Qrow what you two need to do, so later on, if I happen to be unavailable, defer to him if you have any questions. So Qrow here will be set right in the VIP box, guarding over the head of the SDC as well as his sister and Winter. Mr. Schnee's wife won't be able to make it tomorrow, unfortunately. Besides them, there will be a few local dignitaries and performers in there.

"Abel, you will be situated right by the changing rooms. There's an emergency exit right by them, so if anything undesirable happens, try to evacuate the musicians and performers through it. All in all, it should roll smoothly, and you'll probably get to meet Weiss after the concert concludes."

He turned towards Qrow, regarding him this time, "I know you have _less_ than favorable views of the Schnees but please refrain from antagonizing them. They are here for Weiss, so please don't spoil their night."

Qrow waved him off. "Don't worth about it, Smith. I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Spendid! Now, you don't really need to be at your posts now. You'll both be paired up with someone else, but since it's just a dress rehearsal, not all of you need to be there. They've offered to take your positions, citing that they've already had the opportunity to listen to her on other parts of the tour. Now go down to the seats, listen to Weiss for a bit, up close. You don't receive and opportunity like this too often!" With that, he turned away and went into a deeper room of the security pit.

"You heard him, kiddo, let's go listen to the Ice Princess. Maybe I'll take a nap if I really feel like it."

We left the room to navigate our way back down into the lobby and out into the actual theater.

We sauntered down into the seats along with a few others from the security detail. I noted Cyan and Neo waving for us in the front row, a bright umbrella waving in the latter's hands.

I took the seat next to Neo while Qrow took the one next to Cyan, taking note of the smooth leather and soft cushions they were adorned with. Qrow would probably say that it was perfect for sleeping in.

Neo bonked me on the head lightly with her new umbrella, giggling under her hand.

"Hey, what did I say about abusing me?" I joked.

She pouted and turned away from me in mock anger.

I ruffled her hair, "Hey, hey, Neo, don't get all pouty on me, you look much prettier when you're smiling."

I noted the light blush that tinted her cheeks. It was pretty funny getting her flustered like that. She acted like a puppy sometimes and it was too damn adorable!

 _'I used to do this with- nope, not going into those thoughts.'_

Neo brought my attention back to this world by poking me in the chest and she pointed her umbrella towards the stage.

"It's starting, huh. Let's see what all the hubbub is about with Weiss' voice. Been hearing a lot of things about her."

 _'Weiss Schnee, or White Snow. Let's see if she truly is a princess on stage.'_

* * *

"Wow." Surprisingly, it wasn't be who blurted it out. It was Qrow out of all people. He actually listened to the whole rehearsal and damn was he right.

"Wow indeed, Mr. Branwen," Cyan echoed beside him. "I was never able to personally attend one of these concerts, but now, I regret not ever buying a ticket."

"She is quite the singer, indeed, Cyan," I praised. "What do you think of her, Neo?"

She put two thumbs up and nodded her head vigorously.

"Wow, you seem to like her more than your ice cream? Is that seriously happening?" I joked.

Her expression turned into shock and she immediately began to shake her head furiously.

"I'm just kidding, Neo! You can have your ice cream! You know what, how about some _Weiss_ cream?"

Qrow groaned loudly at my awesome pun, "Leave the puns to Yang, Abel. Oum knows I already hear enough of them from her," Qrow complained.

"You guys are no fun. They're pretty funny, right Cyan?"

"Whatever you say, Abel," she responded, the humor apparent in her voice. I drooped my head at at. She stifled a giggle after she noted my little bout of mock depression. I swear rain clouds were hovering above my head.

"Do you like my puns, Neo?" I asked, turning to face her.

She put her hand on her chin and looked up in contemplation. After a few moments of deliberation, she finally smiled and nodded.

"Hah! Suck on that, Qrow!" I exclaimed victoriously. "At least someone appreciates good comedy here."

"Your horrible humor, aside, it's time to go kid. Come on, I've got a good noodle place that I know of that we can get some chow at before we head back to Patch for the night"

I got off from my comfortable, fluffy chair. "Alright, it was nice meeting you Cyan! See you again tomorrow!" I bid her farewell.

"I'll see you, Abel. Oh! Before I forget, Miss Neopolitan's bags were sent to a dressing room, I'll send someone down to fetch them and meet you outside."

"Thanks a lot Cyan, you're awesome!"

She giggled, "Now go on, Abel, Qrow and Miss Neo are waiting for you!"

After that, I jogged after Qrow and Neo, who were waiting for me in the next aisle over.

"Let's get some noodles!"

* * *

The place Qrow took us two was called 'A Simple Wok.' The owner was a rather elderly man, but damn can he move fast. He got the noodles out to us in record time! How's that for instant noodles!

"So, Neo." I slurped some of my noodles, savoring the deliciousness. "Do you have any place to go tonight?"

She put her chopsticks down and stopped eating. She frowned and shook her head.

"What happened, Neo?"

She turned to face me and put her hand out. "You need my scroll?" I pulled the black thing out. "Okay, here ya go. It's already opened to the drawing app."

She took it and started doodling on it. She handed it back to me and what was depicted on there unnerved me.

"You were kicked out of your apartment?" That part was obvious enough. There was a stick figure of a girl getting kicked out of what appeared to be an apartment complex. There was a larger line figure, that of a plump old man. He was waving angrily and had tick marks on his forehead. "Why, though?"

She rubbed her fingers together. "So you didn't have enough rent money?" She sadly nodded. "Wow, that sucks. I'm guessing you don't have any parents here." She looked down and shook her head slowly.

I took note of her falling emotions and tried to cheer her up. "Hey, no need to get all sad, here. I told you that you looked better when you smile! You can come with to my apartment at Patch tonight, then we can figure something out later. Does that sound good?"

She looked up to me, eyes slightly wide. Her arms came around my torso and she engulfed me in a soft hug, her face buried in my chest. I put my hand on her head. _'Soft,'_ I thought.

"I hate to interrupt the moment, but it's getting late. We should head back and hop on a bullhead back to Patch, it'll take too long on the ferry," Qrow cut it.

"Okay Qrow, whatever you say," I said as we let go of each other. We went right back into eating our food, like nothing ever happened.

"I expect full synchronization in ten years."

Neo, oblivious to the joke, tilted her head in confusion

I, however, spit out my food and waved my chopsticks angrily at the drunk bastard. "Damnit Qrow!"

* * *

"We're here, my home sweet home," I declared, getting the keys out, setting the shopping bags down on the ground.

I unlocked the door and opened it for Neo. "Make yourself at home!" She instantly took off and slammed the bathroom door shut, already off to take a well needed shower, if the sound of running water was anything to go buy.

"Hyper little ice cream cone," I joked to myself, picking the bags up and walking into my apartment. It was a quaint little thing, a small full kitchenette off to the left side with a stove and microwave, a small fridge set on the corner. A couch and TV occupied the majority of the living room, a coffee table set in between them. The blinds were closed, but there was a small balcony that I set up a small charcoal grill and plastic chair on.

The bathroom was down a small hallway to the right, just a little past my bedroom. I only had one bed, so I guess I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight. I set the bags down on the coffee table and went to get myself some water from the fridge.

 _'I guess I'll have to upsize a few things, soon.'_

I froze. I didn't know where the hell that thought came from. I was only letting Neo stay a few nights at most, until we figure out her housing issues. So why then does it displease me thinking about trying to find her a new home?

I heard the creaking of the wood floors behind me. Neo was already done showering, an oversized t-shirt adorning her form. Her hair was still dripping a bit. She let out a big yawn.

"Did you leave all your clothes back at your old apartment?" I questioned her.

She nodded. "How many days has it been since you were kicked out?"

Her eyes darted to the ceiling for a bit, then she replied with two fingers.

"Did your landlord refuse to unlock your room until you paid the rent?" She nodded yet again.

"Dammit, that's gonna be a pain in the ass for you later on. No matter, though. I'll take the couch tonight. My bedroom's right next to the bathroom, so feel free to go to sleep.

She yawned again and nodded slowly. I watched her retreating form into the hallway. After she disappeared into my room, I heard a loud plop.

 _'Guess she was so tired that she just knocked out. Poor thing.'_

I stood up and walked over to the closet door across from my bedroom door. I pulled out an extra pillow and a blanket for myself. Before I went back into the living room, however, I looked into the room and saw Neo lying on her side, arms hugging one of my large pillows, head buried inside it.

 _'She's pretty adorable,'_ I noted. I headed out back into the living room after a few more seconds observing her, and took residence on my couch.

"A well deserved rest after a day of philanthropy and kicking ass." I muttered to myself, eyes drooping down as I let Morpheus take me into his realm.

* * *

A loud thud from my bedroom woke me up. Annoyed at being woken up by the sudden noise, I fumbled around with my scroll and checked the time.

 _'Three in the morning? What the hell are you doing, Neo?'_

I groggily rose up and began walking towards my bedroom. I expected her to be awake but instead, she was tossing and turning in her sheets, whimpering and gasping.

 _'Damnit, I dont have the time nor experience to deal with this shit.'_

I've had nightmares of my own, but no one was really around to help me with that sort of thing. I've never had them around Emelie nor was Barloc ever around enough to notice them.

I noticed a book on floor by the corner of the bed. It was a school textbook about Dust that I forgot to take off my bed and set into my backpack.

I dropped down to pick it up and set it on my desk. I wouldn't be needing it for tomorrow's classes.

I went to leave the room. In the doorway I looked back at Neo, who stopped tossing and turning but still had a pained expression on her face. She was still gripping my pillow tightly, tears forming at the corner of her eyes

I shut the door and went back to my couch in the living room, pulling my blanket over me and trying to sleep after the small disturbance.

A sick feeling from the pit of my stomach almost prevented me from going back to sleep.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, squinting at the sudden light hitting my face. There was a soft amount of light coming from behind the blinds, the pitter patter of rain resonating outside. I opened my scroll and checked if I had any new messages or emails. It was 7:35 in the morning, a bit early for waking up on a school day. Classes at signal start at 9 and it was only a ten minute walk from my apartment.

I stretched my arms out and yawned loudly. I went to looking around my apartment, the shopping bags still on the coffee table and Neo's new umbrella leaning on the wall next to the T.V. I slowly got up and made my way to the kitchen, pulling out some eggs and vegetables, cooking up a few omelettes for breakfast. I set one aside on a different plate for Neo, going on to cook some bacon. The savory smell wafted throughout the apartment, making my stomach growl in anticipation. I set down a few strips for Neo and set her plate in the microwave.

After I finished my delicious, bacon-filled breakfast. I went for a hot morning shower. When I went into the bathroom, I noted Neo's dress that she wore yesterday lying down on the floor.

I grumbled, bending down to pick up her clothing. "Come on, Neo, you don't want this thing getting dirty. I paid good money for this." I set it on the hanger and turned on the water. I stripped down and stepped into the glorious, glorious, shower.

"Ahhh~" I let out. I was too tired to shower yesterday night so it was nice to get all this stickiness off of me.

Neo was still asleep, albeit peacefully now, so I tiptoed into my room after the shower and took out a pair of school clothes and changed back in the bathroom.

I checked the clock. "8:30, time to get going."

I picked up my keys and my own black umbrella. I left a note for Neo on the kitchen table telling her where her food is and where she could find some extra lien if the leftovers in the fridge weren't enough food for her. I swooped up my backpack and holstered my pistols underneath my school blazer. I saw a pair of silenced glock 19's on a shelf beside me. I didn't take note of them until after my first confrontation on Remnant. They were returned to me, inside my suit coat, completely loaded. I also took them and put them in my suit, right below Law and Order.

I almost walked out of the door but I suddenly remembered something.

"Damnit, I almost forgot my suit for tonight," I mumbled.

I went up to pick up my suit, lying among the bags on the coffee table. My shirt and tie that I used for Signal was good enough to go with the suit so I opted out bringing a dress shirt. When I went outside, the rain was pouring down harder than I expected. The clouds were an ominous shade of gray and I could hear the thunder in the distance. I could barely see down the road with the heavy downpour of rain. There were a few tree branches littered along the road, the wind blowing harshly against my face.

"Damn, what did I do to piss you off today, Raziel?" I muttered. I never forgot that angel's name. In the face of Aura, Semblances, and stories about Maidens, Raziel was much more than those things. This world might have some magical things, but that bastard was the only thing I could legitimately say was ethereal, other-worldly even. I knew that he existed on a different plane of reality, much higher than us humans, and he definitely knows that I know this, too. He put me here because he had hope in me. I started repaying his kindness with Neo. I better not disappoint him.

I finally managed to reach Signal, just ten minutes before classes started. I peered in and saw Ruby and Yang waving at me, smiles on their faces. They were my first friends here, forced interactions aside. I wouldn't do anything to change that. On my time at Earth, Barloc and Emelie were the only people I considered true friends. It was lonely after Emelie was gone and Barloc left to live his own life. I was finally making friends here on Remnant. They're teaching me to actually enjoy life for once.

"Hey there, Abes!" Yang greeted once I reached them. "What's up? How was your weekend"

"Pretty eventful, honestly. I'm glad to be back here, though," I admitted. Even if I hated the idea of Signal at first, I grew attached to the place. I couldn't experience too many facets of my childhood, and being a teenager again allowed me to experience things differently.

 _'Raziel, if you could hear me, thank you.'_

"Are you gonna be able to stay after to help me modify Crescent Rose, Abel?" Ruby asked meekly. I felt bad for her, cause I'll have to be off to Vale for Weiss' concert

"Sorry, little red, I have some business at Vale right after classes end, but maybe tomorrow I can stay," I answered.

"That's okayyyyy! We can always add new things other times! You should bring your pistols, too! Maybe we can extend the magazines like you planned!" she said enthusiastically.

"Okay, okay, I'll bring it this time," I answered, patting the girl on her head. She huffed indignantly, annoyed that I participate in babying her with Yang.

Yang piped up this time. "Are we gonna have that spar during combat class, later? I'm ready to beat you down with Ember Celica!"

"Yeah, yeah, Yang, you'll get your fun. Just be warned, though, I'm not as easy as you think I will be," I warned.

"I know, but still! I guess we'll have a _yanging_ time later on, eh?" she punned.

I chucked, "I guess we will. I guess we will."

A feeling from the pit of my stomach wanted to deny that.

* * *

"Dammit, Yang hits hard for a fourteen year old," I grumbled, rubbing my ribs. Even though I eventually came up on top, a feat not too many people were able to claim, she did a number on me, too.

"That's what you get kid," Qrow said, taking a swig of his flask. "It was your fault that you offered to spar with little Firecracker, and look at you now."

"Cut that drinking shit out, we're almost at the Theater, Qrow. I doubt the Schnees appreciate the smell of alcohol," I told him.

"Yeah, yeah, kiddo. I put on some cologne so it'll mask the odor, I'll be just fine. Winter won't smell a thing," he rebutted.

"Whatever you say, old man. We're here, so let's hurry up and get to Smith. We won't like it if we're late," I reasoned.

With that we made our way into the lobby. There were a few patrons here already, the clock barely even hitting six. We snaked around them and went in deeper to get to the security section. Smith and Cyan were already outside, already expecting us.

"Splendid, you made it on time. There's no need to go into the security pit, I've already briefed you on the procedures over Scroll on your way here. I'll just give you your earpieces and transponders here." He handed me and Qrow a set of earpieces with a wire leading to a small black box.

"Just put the little black box in a suit pocket and have the wire come out from your neck area. If you need to communicate anything, just press the button here. You can hook the system up to your scroll and you should be able to contact specific people, like Qrow, myself, or Cyan by using the toggle on the scroll app. Your communicator numbers are 131 and 132, the former being Qrow's and the latter being Mr. Brenton's. You can send messages privately, if need be, but try and stay on the general channel. The general channel is programmed to always broadcast no matter which communicator you're trying to communicate with, just in case we need to send out mass orders," Noire explained.

"Cyan will take Mr. Brenton over here to the dressing room area while I'll bring you over by the VIP box, Qrow."

"Follow me, Abel," Cyan requested, turning around and going into a nearby hallway. I followed her, noticing that she was wearing a different getup this time. She still had her dark blue hairclip on, but she wore a black blazer over a dark blue dress shirt, opting out for a pair of black slacks instead of a skirt. I looked around and noticed more of the security donning similar outfits.

"Who'll be my partner in crime for tonight, Cyan? You, maybe?" I asked her.

"Unfortunately I won't be. I'll be taking up residence in the inner lobby," she responded.

"That's a shame. I hope I'll get along with my partner," I voiced.

"I'm sure you'll get along just fine with him. I must ask, where's Miss Neopolitan today?" she questioned me.

"She's back at my apartment, I woke up early for school today so I decided to leave her alone to rest for the day," I answered.

She perked up an eyebrow at my explanation, "Is that so?" She giggled, "Wow, Abel, you must be quite a fast worker if you're already able to have her stay over."

My eyes widened at that. "No no no it's not like that!" I was waving my hands in front of me frantically. "She didn't have a place to stay that night so I offered for her to stay at mine! Nothing shady going on, I swear!"

Her giggling turned into full blown laughter, "Relax Abel! I was just kidding. You're only fifteen, it'd be a real concern if something actually _was_ happening."

"Man, you're just like Qrow when it comes to these things!" I protested.

"Nothing wrong in teasing, Abel, maybe you should entertain your romantic thoughts from time to time," Cyan suggested.

I tried my best to ignore the dark thoughts that came up from the recesses of my head. Luckily, before they could truly manifest, we arrived at the dressing room corridor. It was themed white, with a cream colored carpet running along the middle of the floor, ornate statues in a few niches in the walls. There was a large bust one one end and the emergency exit on the other. More hallways split off from the ends of the corridor.

"We're here, Abel. This is your partner, Basil." In front of me was a young man, about twenty five years of age. He was wearing the same getup as Cyan except that he was wearing a white dress shirt and a bright green tie. He wore green rimmed glasses and had short black hair.

"Nice to meet you, Basil, my name's Abel ." I put my hand out towards him.

"Likewise, Abel. I hope that this night will be productive. It's very rare that they need so many huntsmen for this sort of thing, alas, the White Fang have forced us to take these measures," he asserted.

"I'll leave you two to it," Cyan said before taking off towards the inner lobby.

"So, should we stick together or should we go and stay at opposite ends of the corridor?" I inquired.

"We should patrol separate ends, if anything we can contact each other with our earpieces. My communicator number is 152. If any trouble arises, we can regroup," Basil suggested.

"Fine by me. My communicator number is 132, I'll take this end of the corridor while you can take the one with the emergency exit," I offered.

"Perfect. If anything comes up, I'll contact you Abel."

"Likewise, Basil." It was pretty nice not having someone treat me as a child. Even though I am one now, doesn't mean it's fun to always have it rubbed into my face. Basil treated me just like he would Cyan or Qrow, so he already has a good standing in my books.

"Now we play the waiting game."

* * *

I could just barely hear the orchestra and Weiss through the walls of the corridor. So far, nothing notable has happened. A few guest performers and a guest choir occasionally went through and hopped in the dressing rooms. Weiss was still in her own. It's been a half hour of guest performers and features by now, so she should be coming out sometime soon.

 _"Everything fine in the dressing rooms?"_ I heard in my ear. It was Qrow.

Basil responded before I could, _"Affirmative, Qrow. Me and Abel are monitoring for any suspicious movements."_

 _"Good. You kids keep watch out there. So far, so good."_

I decided to check the time. It was 7:35. The concert would go on until about 10:30 so we still have a long night ahead of us.

 _"I'll check around the corner by the emergency door for anything. I'll be back in a bit,"_ I heard Basil declare before I saw him fade from my vision.

 _'I wonder exactly how much this mission ought to pay?'_ I wondered.

I checked my watch again. It was 7:45. It had been about 8 minutes since Basil went in there, ' _what was taking him so long?'_

 _"Basil, can you copy?"_ I mouthed into my earpiece. Nothing came back.

 _"Qrow, Basil isn't back yet and he isn't responding. Raise the alert level to yellow, I'm going ahead and locating him."_

 _"Shit, will do kid."_ I heard him reply.

I dashed towards the opposite end of the corridor, pulling Law and Order out from their holsters.

I reached the corner and put my back against the wall. I listened for any signs of Basil. Instead all I could hear was the sound of the orchestra.

 _'Fuck it, I'm going in.'_

I rounded the corner and what I saw made my blood run cold. Basil was lying on the floor, blood pouring from a wound on his forehead. I holstered my pistols and checked on his condition. His aura was completely depleted but he was still alive, breathing slowly. No doubt he'll be having a concussion when this is all over. I looked around and tried to see if there were any signs of his attackers.

 _"Qrow, up the alert to red, Basil-"_ before I could even finish however, a large sword came up from a nearby doorway and threatened to slice me in half. My earpiece fell out of my ear, getting grazed by the flat of the blade.

Two people came out. "Fucking White Fang," I spat out.

"Lookie here, Ciara, a baby bird's wandered off from the nest," a deep voice chided.

The other voice was distinctly feminine but was no less vicious. "I think I'll take down this puny human, Forrest. You had your fun getting the drop on Mr. Green over there." He went on and dragged Basil's body next room.

She pulled out a large metal axe. At the other end I could see a narrow blade protruding from the handle. The axe-head was colored black and light gray while the handle was a deep blood red.

"Prepare to end up like your friend here, kid, die in the name of the White Fang!" she screamed, moving into action, bringing her weapon behind her head for a swing. Before she could redirect her momentum downward, I leapt at her, delivering a harsh palm strike into her stomach.

"Ugh!" she grunted out, stepping back and bringing her blade in front of her before I could deliver any more shots. I took my pistols out and began shooting a volley of rounds at her. They were filled with a mix of fire dust and lightning dust, so once they contacted a surface, they detonated loudly and smoke came up around us. After I ran out of bullets, I tried to reload my pistols, but the axe came slashing at me from the cloud of dust and smoke. _'SHIT', I mentally cursed._

"You're a fucking pest kid, if it weren't for you, we'd already have the Schnee's head displayed for all of Vale to see," she declared.

 _'Shit they're planning to display her execution to the public? Do they know how much Grimm that will attract!?'_

"Not on my fucking watch you will!" I roared. The girl, Ciara, swung her axe extremely hard in a horizontal slash. I ducked underneath it, though, and managed to see her axe get lodged in the wall to my left.

 _'Perfect.'_

I pulled up to the right of her axe, hopping up and delivering a devastating axe kick to her arms to make her let go of her axe. I saw her friend coming up from the doorway from the room he stuffed Basil in. Before he was able to come and help her though, I took her axed and threw it right in front of him, lodging itself in the door frame. It stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Motherfu-" I cut her off with a volley of kicks to her ribs and went in past her guard to deliver a set of chain punches into her solar plexus, ending with a straight punch into her stomach to take her off her feet.

"Now you've done it!" her friend shouted. He ducked underneath the axe and took out his large longsword and attempted to cleave me in half. I waited for an opportunity, avoiding all of his strikes with ease. He was pretty slow with a broadsword, even slower than that claymore wielding bastard from back then. He overextended himself with one of his strikes, so I ducked underneath it, reached for the woman's axe and threw it straight at his back. His aura took the brunt of the damage so all it did was send him into the ground.

"You bitch!"

I ignored his protests and shot my entire magazine onto him. I managed to deplete his aura but before I could send more shots the woman, Ciara, came up and tried tackling me too the ground. She was pretty out of it, so I just moved out of the way and let her trip over the other guy's sword.

"Ugh!" she blurted out. Before she landed on the ground however, I fired a the rest of my magazine at her, depleting her aura.

I put my earpiece back on. _"Qrow, the White Fang have infiltrated. Start an evacuation, now! I need backup, Basil's been knocked out and he's bleeding, I don't know if I could drag him."_

 _"Shit kid, where the Dust have you been! We were calling for you for the past 5 minutes now! We know the White Fang are here, everything is going to shit! They've got this barrier-user, using his semblance to keep me and Winter inside the VIP box. The rest of my security is already busy with the White Fang, but no one's been able to get to Weiss, so it's up to you. I'm sorry, Abel, but we can't do anything for you, you're on your own."_

 _"FUCK! My earpiece was knocked out, goddammit!"_ I screamed into the earpiece.

"Yeah, kid, there's nothing stopping us now!" I heard the axe-wielder boast. They were lying a few feet from each other, too weak to actually rise back up and fight.

"So what now, kid? You can't just leave us here, cause once we get up, we'll kill your friend over there. You don't have the balls to kill us, kid. You're not even outta school yet!" the sword-wielder taunted me.

I holstered my pistols.

"Hah! I knew you couldn't do it!"

I ignored that, replying to them coldly, "You know, I'm not just any kid. I've had it up to here with bastards like you mocking my age! Guess what? Since I came on this bloody world I've been building up some pent up anger."

"What do you mean-" Ciara started before I ended that thought.

"Ever since I was plopped into this world as a bloody fourteen year old, everyone's underestimated me cause of my damn age. Even when I was in my old world, it happened. Even when I turned fucking 25. Guess what, bitch! I'm no bloody teenager! Only the fucking drones in fucking Afghanistan are deadlier than me!"

"Are you nuts, kid? Are we supposed to beli-" Forrest began.

"Shut the fuck up! I don't care if you believe it, because it won't be long for you to hear about it."

I pulled out my silenced Glock 19s from inside my coat.

"Dear Oum kid," one of them gasped, I didn't even notice who at this point.

I saw Abel's limp form in the room next to my position. I couldn't leave those White Fang with them lest I risk his life if they wake up before him. I knew what I had to do. I had no qualms with it. I must do whatever it takes to prevent the innocents around me from getting hurt.

My fingers cradled the triggers.

"Back on Earth they called me 'the hand of death.' Guess what? Death's come to collect."

The bullets reached them before their voices could.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back! I'm on a roll! At first I didn't think I'd be able to write this chapter just as fast as I did the second one, but boy, once I reached the benchmark scene at A Simple Wok, I couldn't stop writing.**

 **I portrayed the scene where Abel bought Neo all those things for a reason. Abel very much sees himself in Neo. I'll expand on that later, maybe put in a few stories from his life that will parallel Neo's situation. Although I did write in that he never really did anything generous, even after he's obviously seen kids that were in situations like his, or even worse, take in mind that Abel was on operations that he couldn't really try to do anything for them (maybe even risk his life if he actually helped anyone) and that he was hellbent on his mission to eliminate the scum of humanity. He was too filled with hatred to have compassion.**

 **You can guess who pulled him out, albeit temporarily. I'm not gonna explain Emelie at the moment, but you can guess what she did for him. Especially what her death did to him. After six months on this world, I think he's able to realize that he'll never get his vengeance. Hell, I think he realized this when he was talking to Barloc. Without his quest for vengeance, he can think about other things, including compassion, sympathy, and at the end of it, his absolution even.**

 **I don't want to progress his development so fast, however. Don't think this act of kindness will mark a completely spotless record in his future. You could already see that with how he dealt with the White Fang. This also goes for romantic progression. Don't mistake Neo and Abel's interactions for love or even interest at this point. Abel's trying to fix his ways while Neo's trying to repay his kindness. I have a whole story arc planned out on their romance in the future, and Emelie will come back to haunt him.**

 **I actually thought I'd be able to fit in the climax of this arc within this chapter, but I proved myself wrong and shit's just went down! Can Abel reach Weiss? Who else will he kill? Will he ever stop? Find out, on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!**

 **Next chapter: 8/18-20**

 **TPF out**


	4. Blaze

**A/N: I'm back! I couldn't get this chapter out as quick as I did last time because of a combination of school prep and watching Gate. I must say, I do love that anime even though Itami is pretty Marty Stu, and I'm planning to do a RWBY crossover with it. However, I will try to add in US marines in there due to the fact I seriously have problems with the glorification of the JSDF (it's borderline propaganda). I do lack the military knowhow so before I get that story underway I'm gonna have to do quite a bit of research on military tactics, SOPs of both the JSDF and Marines, and random stuff such as slang and terms as well as international accords and laws such as the Geneva Convention. I already know a lot about politics due to school, however I never applied for JROTC so I have little knowledge of the military. Both the stories up on that fandom that I've read are made by veterans and it's clear they know their shit.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Raze Olympus: Thanks! I'll keep up the action!**

 **Shashenka: Thanks! I had trouble trying to keep the story a bit more on the serious/action in chapter 3, but I added the start of the action at the end to show that Abel is still a hard ass killer and even though he's changed because of the transition, I had to show that in some capacity.**

 **Doctorn: Thanks for the correction!**

 **The Mad Author: Thanks for your interest!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Blaze**

* * *

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."

― Rumi

* * *

 _"Qrow, two targets have been eliminated."_ I radioed in.

 _"What do you mean by eliminated, kid?"_ Qrow replied.

 _"They will not be a threat to us in the near or far future, over."_ I explained vaguely.

He didn't need to be sober to understand what I meant. _"Oum, kid. Look, we'll talk about this later. The damn barrier is still up and whoever's making it is outside of it, making it impossible for us to get out. You need to get to Weiss. She is top priority. Get to her, over."_

 _"Copy that."_ I put away my glocks and replaced them with Law and Order, fully loaded and ready to execute any stray White Fang. I hid Abel's sleeping body away for safekeeping, wiping off the blood on his forehead. He wasn't going to wake up any time soon. After that, I dashed back towards the dressing rooms and I could hear the screaming and commotion in the theater.

"Shit's just hit the fan, hasn't it," I cursed to myself. When I rounded the corner, I noticed two White Fang grunts just barely reaching the door of Weiss' dressing room.

 _'Fuck, I can't let them bust down that door.'_

I pulled out a pair of smoke bombs and threw them at their feet. I needed to distract them, just for a bit.

"Shit, what the fuck was that, Connor?"

"I don't know, but we're finally at the Schnee's location. Maybe Adam will promote us after we kill her!"

"I ho-" before that one could respond, I rounded behind him and twisted his head forcefully. He fell to the floor in a dead heap.

 _'No Aura, huh. Convenient.'_

"What was that, Jay?" Before he could notice that his friend was gone, I took a gamble and fired a few rounds at him through the smoke, hoping that he didn't have an aura like his friend. I heard a loud thump and that confirmed my kill.

I went up to Weiss' dressing room door and found that it was locked. I forcefully heel kicked the door down and sped into the room.

"Ahhh!" I heard a shrill scream. I expected that. However, I did not expect to be assaulted my slashes of a fucking rapier when I barged in. Even with an elegant white dress on, Weiss was easily able to maneuver her weapon and move around agilely.

"Woah! Stop that!" I ordered, dodging her strikes. "I'm part of the security detail, I'm here to extract you to a safe location!"

She stopped with her slashes. "You shouldn't have broken open that door, you imbecile! I could've killed you if I didn't notice that you weren't White Fang!"

"I'd like to see you try, princess. Let's get the hell out of this place." I grabbed her forearm, dragging her out of the room, ignoring her protesting screams.

I switched the earpiece to the general security channel. _"This Hitman-Actual reporting in. I have the Snow Angel. Repeat, I have the Snow Angel. Trying to find a safe extraction point. Will provide backup for Scarecrow and Blizzard after. Hitman-1 is currently unconscious, left his body in a secure area, over"_

 _"Copy, Hitman-Actual, this is Overlord. Do not go through any emergency exits. They have compromised the main exits. There are friendly forces on the rooftop, holding off the White Fang. There will be an Atlesian bullhead ready for escort. Over."_ I heard Noire's voice respond.

 _"I will radio in once I'm close to the extraction point."_ I declared.

 _"Copy that Hitman-Actual. This is Rally-Actual, head of the forces on the room. Will do, over."_ A different voice radioed in this time.

 _"Overlord, this is Ocean-2 we're experiencing difficulties up in here. We suspect the Matador will breach."_ I heard Cyan's voice ring out.

I dragged Weiss up towards a set of back stairs, intent on heading towards the roof.

"What are you doing, you dunce! There was an emergency exit back in that corridor!" she protested.

I replied, "No can do, Snow Angel, the White Fang have covered the exits. We have to get you to the roof for safe extraction."

"Do you even think you could protect me all the way up to there? You're barely even my age! And don't call me that!" she yelled.

"Who the hell do you think killed those White Fang outside of your room?" I countered.

"How?! You're just a kid!"

"I'm seriously tired of hearing that, you know," I complained. I heard gunshots ringing out in the hallway we climbed up too. I could make out the yelling of White Fang members scrambling around.

There were large marble pillars lining the sides of the hallway. The White Fang were close, just around the corner at the end of the hallway.

"Look here, Weiss. Hide behind one of those pillars for cover, I'll take care of them."

She huffed indignantly, "Do you you think you'll be able to handle those Faunus scum? You'll be needing my help. Now step aside."

I forcefully pushed her into the pillar's cover. "Look here, princess! It's my fucking job to keep your sorry ass safe. If you even get hurt, it'll be suicide for us if we're not near the roof. So stay behind this fucking pillar and let me handle the rest!" I barked.

Instead of protesting like I expected her to, she nodded slowly, shellshocked from my outburst. I took cover on a different pillar and loaded a different magazine into Law and Order. They were highly explosive dust rounds that could easily do the damage of a grenade back on Earth. Now I have 2 magazines full of them.

 _'Fuck collateral damage, the White Fang have already done enough of that already.'_

Once I heard the footsteps round the corner, I went out from cover and fired the entirety of my magazines at them. Statues was shattered, loud explosions rang out, debris was scattered all over the ornate carpet. The whole entire end of the hallway was just decimated. My ears were ringing and I could barely make out a few slumped forms of White Fang grunts past the dust cloud my explosions created. One wall was completely torn apart, showing the insides of a supply closet, alongside broken White Fang masks.

"Ughh," I heard a few of them drawl out, trying to get up off of some debris. Before they could make it to a standing position, however, I shot them multiple times in their chests. They had to be without any Aura, the explosions made sure of that. Five forms slumped down to the ground, blood leaking onto the carpet.

"Weiss, let's go!" I shouted at her from the end of the hallway. I saw her eyes widen exponentially as soon as she took notice of the bodies.

I noted the change in her demeanor. "Let's go Weiss, save the mourning for after the battle." I grabbed her hand and dragged her through another set of hallways. We finally reached the service stairway, hidden behind a large set of metal doors. When we stepped into the narrow metal stairwell, I could hear the shouting of White Fang members from a few flights down.

"Come on, you fucking slowasses! The Schnee won't have any way to get out of here if we take that damn bullhead up there! Adam should be arriving soon to execute her and when he comes, there's no stopping us now!"

 _"Rally-Actual. We're making our way up the service stairwell to the roof now, we're just a few flights away. There are hostile forces a few flights below us, however, I'll send Weiss up on her own and take care of them, over."_ I spoke into my earpiece.

 _"Copy that, Hitman-Actual, this is Rally-Actual, hold your position. I repeat, hold your position. I will have Atlesian Military rendezvous with you in about one minute. Just climb the remaining flights and stay right at the door for the roof, over."_

 _"Copy that, I will bring Snow Angel up, over."_ I responded.

I turned to Weiss. "Follow me, we'll have you out of here in no time."

She actually followed my request wordlessly that time, scaling her way with me up to the top of the metal stairwell.

 _"Rally-Actual, we have made it, over."_ I radioed in. The door beeped opened and I saw a tall, dark-skinned man in an Atlesian military uniform. He was wielding a large standard Atlesian dust rifle and dark sunglasses. He closed the door behind us and shot a round at the control panel, locking it shut. He gestured for us to start running towards the bullhead with him

"I'm Private Fields. You must be the escort, seeing that Miss Schnee is behind you," he observed.

"Yes, Private. Snow Angel is ready for extraction. I assume you're part of Winter's troop?" I asked.

"Yes, however, we are the only military personnel here at this moment. The Valean army and huntsmen are on their way to provide backup and support in about t-minus 30 minutes," he confirmed.

"Shit, that might be too long. I heard something about an 'Adam' arriving, down in the stairwell. Do you know what that means?"

I automatically knew that I would hate the answer once he turned to me, eyes wide, lips forming a deep frown.

"Shit, that's Adam Taurus, the leader of the White Fang! We need to get Miss Schnee out of here, now!" He began running faster. We upped our pace to keep up with him. Once we arrived at the bullhead, could see a mix of Atlesian military and Theater security taking cover and aiming for any spots the White Fang could come from.

I heard the Private ordering them, "Get Miss Schnee on that bullhead, now! Prep for takeoff. Taurus is coming, repeat, Taurus is coming!" All of them tensed up at his declaration. The Atlesians scrambled onto the bullhead, barking out orders to each other, prepping it for take off.

"Come on, Weiss, get on that bullhead," I spoke over the clamor.

She looked at me and nodded her head firmly. "I might have not been the most helpful or cooperative person, but thank you. Thank you for getting me out of that hellhole and keeping those dirt faunus away from me."

I frowned at her obvious racism, but didn't go into it. "It was my job, Weiss, now get in that bullhead, shit's gonna get worse." I directed her into the hold of the aircraft.

From the ground, I heard her yell from the bullhead, "Wait, what's your name? I'll have to tell father about your performance!"

Before the doors closed I answered her back, "My name's Abel, Abel Brenton. Farewell, Snow Angel!" The bullhead took off and the doors latched shut, flying into the distance.

I growled out after a bit of silence, "Fuck, what the hell are we going to do about Taurus!"

"Leave it to the others, no doubt the White Fang will know their target is gone," Private Fields responded.

My eyes widened as I realized something. "Crap, that means if they can't kill her, that means... they're gonna go after her father! Shit, no wonder they're keeping them locked in the VIP box, once Adam comes, it won't matter if Qrow and Winter can beat him, the sheer numbers of the White Fang will be too much! After they get through them, Mr. Schnee will be done for!"

"We've accounted for that, and there's nothing we can do until backup arrives," he stated grimly. "All of the security forces are busy with the White Fang and many of them are not in the theater anymore because they evacuated some of the patrons. A lot of hunters are even incapacitated.

"Be that as it may, there have been little to no casualties, so far, as much of the White Fang have focused on finding the Schnee. They do not wish to harm any of the civilians, or else the hunters will be on their trail and hinder them from their target. Now, however, they're gonna scramble to the VIP box as their quarry has run off."

"What's the fastest way to get down there! I need to provide backup for Qrow, pronto!" I asked desperately.

"Kid, look, do you really think you're actually gonna be able to take those White Fang on? Stay here and let the rest handle it, we need to bide our time until the military arrives," he instructed.

"They're not going to make it until then! I'm fucking tired of this 'you're just a kid' bullshit! Send me down there, now, or God help me you're gonna get a bullhead in your ass if anyone dies tonight!" I threatened.

He sighed, "Okay kid, don't tell me I didn't warn you. There's a service elevator right there." He pointed at some elevator doors next to the take-off pad. "Use your scroll to activate it, it will take you directly into the upper lobby where the VIP box entrance is located."

"Thank you, Private. I will do whatever it takes to prevent the White Fang from grouping up and stop them from assassinating the SDC head," I thanked him.

"Take this, kid, you might need it." He took his rifle from off of his shoulder and offered it to me. He also tossed me a few magazines from his uniform. "Here are some extra rounds. I don't have any more dust grenades, but it already has a few loaded in on the bottom. Take care out there, kid, I don't want another death on my conscience."

"I'll make sure of it." I saluted him and ran off into the elevator, activating it with my scroll.

"Time to fuck shit up."

* * *

The elevator door dinged open. I readied my new rifle up and slowly walked into the upper lobby. On one side there were large glass windows going to the ceiling. Things were quiet, a bit too quiet. I walked over to the VIP box entrance and noted that the doors were blocked my some type of purple force field, shimmering and producing its own light. I tried to shoot at it, but the bullets just ricocheted off of the surface, lodging themselves in the walls around me.

"You're not gonna get through it like that." I turned around, rifle poised to shoot. What I saw surprised me. I expected another White Fang member or even a whole group of them. Instead, it seemed to be a teenage girl, a bit shorter than me, with long black hair and a large black bow on the top of her head. She was wearing a set of black leggings alongside a tight white jacket with black accents that cut off at her midriff, exposing a ribbed black shirt underneath. Her eyes were a striking amber color, contrasting greatly with the monochromatic getup she had on.

I lowered my rifle and exclaimed, "What are you doing here, kid! The White Fang are gonna be on top of us at any second now! Why didn't you evacuate with the rest of the civilians!"

"I know," she admitted. Before I could properly process that little piece of information, she threw something out at me, aiming directly for my face.

 _'SHIT!'_ I mentally screamed. Before it could it me, I let go of the rifle, letting it swing to my side, hanging from its shoulder strap, and went into a backflip to get away from whatever the hell she threw at me. I managed to get a good distance between us before I stopped my momentum, crouching on the floor.

I looked in front of me and I saw a short blade attached to what appeared to be a low caliber, short barreled pistol stabbed right on the ground where I used to stand. A long black ribbon was attached to it, winding all the way back to its owner.

"You're no normal White Fang, aren't ya?" I said, more of a statement then a question. She didn't grace me with a reply, however, and pulled her weapon back towards her, pulling up a cleaver in her left hand as the pistol-knife mechashifted into a katana in her right hand. She instantly came running at me at an insane speed, seeming to leave afterimages of her form in her wake.

Not willing to get outdone, I pulled out Law and Order and mechashifted them into a form I never used in real combat before. The handles rotated so it ran parallel with the barrels of the pistols and serrated blades snapped out into position, taking residence on both sides of the pistol. I went for a reverse grip on my left hand and a traditional grip with my right hand and dashed towards her.

She began to swipe at me with her large cleaver, but I was able to parry her strikes with my left blade. Before I could get a hit in with my other hand, however, she threw her katana blade at me, forcing me to redirect it with my attacking hand. It landed harmlessly in the wall next to me. Before I could try and cut her ribbon in half, she retracted it and mechashifted it into its pistol form, firing at me.

I was forced to use both of my pistol knives to block the incoming barrage of dust bullets, circling around the girl, intent on taking the offensive once she ran out of ammo. Once I heard the click of her pistol, I sprang at her, slashing at her multiple times with both of my weapons. She was forced to parry my attacks. I was able to get one hit on her face by the end of my assault, knocking her back a few feet and alerting me to the fact that her aura was unlocked.

I didn't want to give her time to recover so before she got back up I side-kicked her, forcing her back even further, closer to the wall. I went for another slash but she threw her weapon at me, wrapping my wrist with her ribbon, propelling me in between her and the wall.

Her weapon finally retreated back to her, letting go of my arm, but she assaulted me with a brutal combination of chops from her cleaver and katana. I almost though I was seeing double when she came at me, but I was able to keep up with her original form and block all of her strikes. She was still able to push me back towards the wall, however, but I backflipped onto it, planting my feet on the vertical surface and shot out, catching her off guard and slamming her into the ground.

While she was down I attempted to stab her but she managed to roll out of the way. My knife got stuck on the floor, so she took the opportunity and went into a sweeping kick, taking me off of my feet. Instead of landing on my ass, I managed to roll into it, facing her while crouching down.

 _"Kid, where are you?!"_ I heard Qrow shout from my earpiece. _"We were able to locate whoever made this barrier. They're in the rafters above the theater ceiling. They're able to keep this thing up from a distance and it isn't budging any time soon."_

 _"I'm dealing with a White Fang member right now, Qrow! I'll deal with them later!"_ I barked into my earpiece.

I looked at the girl in front of me. She was no doubt good, but I knew I would last longer. I was barely sweating while she seemed a bit winded. It was no time for a battle of attrition, though. I needed to take her down, quick, however, and outlasting her won't work if she's able to hold me off until backup arrives.

There was one last option I could utilize. I grabbed my pistol and threw it straight at her. She was able to deflect that off onto the floor beside her.

Even she seemed a bit incredulous at my sudden disposal of my weapon. "What was that for?" I heard her ask, the only words she'd spoken since the beginning of this bout.

"You fight rather well, artistically even." She raised her eyebrows at my random praise. "However, art.. is an EXPLOSION!" I yelled.

Her eyes widened at the gun lodged in the floor beside her. Before she could move out of the way, though, it exploded at hearing my voice command, throwing shrapnel all over the place. It easily knocked her into the wall, but other than that, her aura took the brunt of the damage. I saw it shimmer and die, however, indicating that I was able to deplete it with my explosion.

I walked over to her, clutching my gun-dagger with my right hand. I poised to deal the finishing blow, but a blunt force came ramming into my side, taking a good chunk of my aura with it. I skidded back and parried a sword strike with my remaining weapon. He was able to get in a few good shots on me but it didn't manage to completely deplete my aura.

After his assault, I slid back in a crouching, stabbing my blade into the ground to halt my momentum. He was able to create a buffer between me and my former opponent, preventing me from doing anything else to her.

I took a good look at my new challenger. He was wearing a black suit with a red dress shirt, red designs on his left shoulder and ends of his blazer. He was wearing a standard White Fang mask decorated with red flairs. Two horns stuck out from his fiery red hair, indicating that he was a faunus. He resheathed his blade at an alarming speed. I could barely make out the outlines of a trigger on his sheath.

 _'So he shot his blade out at me hilt first then managed to catch in after it to land a hit? He's gonna be a pain to deal with.'_ I thought bitterly.

"Blake, darling, I didn't expect you to be outmatched me a mere human, a child out of all people." I heard his voice regard the fallen combatant behind him.

"I'm sorry Adam, but he was actually good. Well trained, even," I heard her explain. If it was any other time, I would've blushed at the flattery. However, I heard her say his name and my worst fears were confirmed.

I spat out some blood to the side. "Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang."

"You're familiar with me? That must mean my cause must be reaching more ears than ever before."

"Sure, whatever floats your boat," I said sarcastically.

He turned to his partner in crime behind him. "Blake, if yo-" I cut him off by throwing my last remaining blade at his face. It had the last of my explosive dust rounds, so it would make for an explosion that would easily take out his aura and kill the other one.

"Adam, turn around!" I heard her warn her savior. It was too late, however.

"Katsu!" I shouted, making the blade detonate.

 _'It's over! He'll be good as dead! Wait what!"_

Instead of the explosion taking over the two of them, he drew out his blade and seemingly _**absorbed**_ the explosion, letting the remains of my gun clatter to the floor.

"Blake! Buy me some time!" I heard him order. She got up and shot out at me, engaging me in an exchange of kicks and punches, her weapon abandoned behind her. I was easily able to block every single one of her blows, her speed more sluggish than before.

During our exchange, I decided to question her. "What exactly do you plan on achieving here, killing innocent people, all for the sake of equality?"

She blocked a kick to her side, but I was able to push her a few few feet back. "You can't possibly understand what we're doing here for the sake of the faunus!"

"Indulge me."

"You don't know how it is to suffer like us, to be discriminated just because of extra body parts! We're fighting for equality!" She yelled back, assaulting me with a volley of punches.

I easily managed to block or redirect all of her attempts to pummel me. "Do you really think you'll achieve this through terrorism and violence! Are you arrogant enough to seriously believe I won't understand your plight merely because I'm a human! Don't be a bloody idiot! You think I am a child but I've seen more than you will ever see in your life! I've seen hundreds of people murdered before my very eyes! I've seen a small country fall into bloody civil war! I've witnessed firsthand how cruel the world is! I have more blood on my hands than your whole organization!"

"We're going to start a revolution!" she shouted back behind her bruised forearms, blocking my barrage of punches. More and more adrenaline pumped through my veins.

"Do you know what a revolution is! There's a fucking reason that it's called a revolution, you fucker! You're just gonna end back in the same fucking place, but instead, when the White Fang has power, they're gonna oppress humans! Are you naive enough to believe that they're gonna take that standing down!"

"Shut up!"

"There's gonna be another White Fang, instead, for humans! It's a messy cycle of blood and war! YOU CALL THIS A QUEST FOR PEACE! I CALL THIS A QUEST FOR MADNESS!" I screamed as I punched her straight in her solar plexus, making her choke up blood. She went down to one knee, gasping for air.

"Now, Blake! Move!" I heard Adam shout at her. Before I could register what happened, Blake stepped out of the way and Adam rushed at me at an inhumane speed. I couldn't do anything to move out of the way. I prepared for the impending slash.

I couldn't prepare for the amount of energy it packed, however. It was like he threw a few pack of C4 at me and chucked stick of dynamite at it, making them all explode with another frag grenade. My aura took the brunt of the impact, but I could see my blue aura shimmer and recede in slow motion. I was blown back into the wall, making a sizable crater on it.

"Wow, kid, how the Dust could you even survive that?" I heard Adam ask with genuine surprise in his voice.

"I-I was told I had a huge aura reserves," I stammered out, clutching my torso as I drew myself to a single knee in the corner of the lobby. There was no doubt at least some if not all of my ribs were bruised or broken.

"If you were a faunus, I would've spared you, however, you are a filthy human." I didn't need to guess what he was preparing to do next. He redrew his blood red blade, poising to strike me down.

"You know, the first time I dealt with you bastards they told me the same thing," I muttered out. It didn't register it in my mind that I was going to die a _second_ time.

He slashed down, aiming for my neck.

 _'I guess I'll be finally meeting you now, Satan you bastard.'_

The blade never came down. I looked up, and saw a mass of white, brown, and pink.

"Neo!" I shouted in shock. She must've followed me here or something, it didn't matter to me at that point. She was blocking her blade with her new umbrella, not ripping or tearing under the pressure. She was struggling under the pressure of Adam's blade, visibly shaking.

 _'The umbrella had to be battle ready, didn't it?'_ I thought jokingly. She couldn't match his strength anymore, so she flipped to the side and redirected his blade harmlessly to the ground on my left.

"Neo! Get out of here now! Don't hurt yourself for me!" I screamed in desperation. Instead of running, she looked at me and smiled. It wasn't a smile of joy or happiness, but rather, the look one gets when they're resigned to their own end.

I plopped down uselessly, beating myself up. "Damnit, damnit all to hell!" I could only watch as Neo could barely block Adam's sword. She put up a good effort, alas, she was getting tired quickly. Her steps became sluggish and she let in more hits than she would've at the start of this bout.

"Trash needs to be thrown out!" I heard Adam shout frustratingly. Before my brain knew what I was doing, my legs went into overdrive. He let out a strong horizontal slash before Neo could react, hitting her square in the stomach and throwing her into the windows. I could just barely make out the shimmering of her own pink aura, fading away.

"NEO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. There was no way she could survive that fall without aura. Everything became slow-motion to me. I could see Neo's face slowly contorting to shock, Adam turning around to face me, Blake at the end barely even getting up.

I saw Adam getting ready for an attack and Blake readying her katana. I didn't care about them, however. I jumped right as she hit the glass, shattering it into a million pieces. Before she could truly begin her ascent, I flew straight into her, wrapping my arms around her. I twisted myself so I was cradling her form with my own, my back facing the ground.

 _'Qrow, Winter, Neo, I hope you get out of this alive. I'm sorry I couldn't help you anymore.'_

"But you _can_."

* * *

I jumped from my lying position. There was noticeable lack of weight in my arms; Neo wasn't in them anymore. My stomach wasn't in my throat anymore, and the sensation of falling was absent from all of my senses. The wind wasn't running through my clothes anymore. I couldn't hear any gunfire or city activity.

"I didn't fancy seeing you here again so soon, Abel." I saw Raziel's glowing form before me, standing gracefully on a small gathering of clouds.

The same chaotic clouds that permeated the landscape during my last meeting with him were here again. They were twisting and swirling violently, encapsulated in a battle of attrition, restlessly attempting to engulf and overwhelm the rest of the sky. Still, bright rays of light peeked through them, occasionally blinding me with the whitest light I've ever seen.

"So does this mean I failed, Raziel?" I asked cautiously.

"Hmm, not quite. I have many plans for you, Abel, none of them ending up with your death at the hands of that one Adam Taurus," he responded.

"...so what now?" I echoed my question from the first time.

"I will lend you some power and some of my own knowledge. You don't know your Semblance yet, do you not?" he asked, even though he knew full well the answer to his own question.

"Will it be the ability to fly?" I hoped.

"Hmm... not how you will use it yet, but maybe in the far future." He opened his book again. "Read, yet again, broken soul. Your power shall equate your will to survive. Lose it, and it shall break."

I took it off from his hands and began reading. There were no words, but I knew it didn't matter in the slightest. A white light overtook me, and suddenly, I saw.

Then, I understood.

* * *

I opened my eyes once again. My mind went into autopilot and I twisted in the air and made it so Neo was piggybacking me. I saw the alabaster colored sides of the theater swooping in my peripheral vision.

 _'I can't die now, not with so many people depending on me.'_

"Neo, hold on!" I shouted. I could barely make out her grip on my suit tightening. I threw my arms out and my blue aura built up above my palms. Glowing blue short swords manifested in front of my palms and I gripped them tightly. I instantly stabbed them into the side of the theater, slowing our descent. We finally hit the ground with a loud thud, my legs first.

"Agh!" I cried out at the pain. My shinbones were broken. Neo was thrown off of my back into a nearby heap of trash. She was alright. Before I could try and check my shins, however, I felt my aura reach out to them and heal them almost instantly. I stood back up experimentally, a slight pain still registering in my legs and ribs, but dulling into obscurity.

I looked over to Neo, making sure that she was fine. I dropped down to her side, checking if she was alright. I went to feel her ribs and she instantly winced at contact.

"Shit, you took a blow there for me, no doubt some of your ribs are broken. Stay here and hide, we can't have any White Fang knowing that you're still alive. Hopefully they'll write us off as dead." She nodded slowly, and winced right after her first nod.

"You'll be okay, Neo. I'll page for backup once this is all over. You saved my ass back there. I can't believe that you hurt yourself for my sake. Why did you choose to come and follow me here?" I breathed out. She pointed a weak finger at me.

"Is this because you feel like you owe me?" Another nod. "Consider us even. You saved my life back there, I can't thank you enough," I voiced. I got back up, experimentally shaking my legs to see if they were alright.

"I'll be back, Neo. I'm better than I was, hell I'm better than I've felt in ages! That bastard won't know what hit him!" Before I could take off though, she grabbed onto my arm.

"Look, Neo, I know you don't want me up there but there are pe-" I was cut off when she cupped my face and gave me a brief kiss on the lips. I blushed heavily, not expecting this sudden gesture from the ice cream themed girl. Before my brain could fully process her kiss, she pushed me off lightly and pointed up towards the window we came from.

"G-go," I heard her breathe out raspily. It was the first time I've heard her talk, and I wasn't going to let it be in vain.

All former thoughts about the kiss were thrown out and I nodded firmly back at her. I looked up at the broken window and knew that if I went in through the main entrance and up the stairs, I might not make it on time. Even if there weren't any White Fang in my way.

 _'Screw it, I'm doing this Mission Impossible style.'_

I stabbed my aura blades into the side of the building, using them as a platform for me to jump on. I formed more aura blades as soon as I reached the apex of my jump, stabbing them into the wall and using my arms to propel myself up even further. I did this repeatedly until I finally managed to jump into the frame the same window we barreled out through just moments ago. I looked down and I saw that my blades shimmering into nothingness, disappearing after releasing contact with them.

I saw a horde of White Fang members joining Adam and Blake, already celebrating. They haven't noticed me yet, the White Fang listening to Adam with my backs towards me and the crowd too thick for Adam to notice my presence. I crouched down, sneaking around silently.

 _'This boost in power will only last a few minutes. Your powers reach their true potential under great amounts of stress. It will never be this powerful again for years'_

 _'Whatever you say, Raziel. Let's kick some White Fang ass.'_

 _'Let's.'_ He chuckled out.

"Tonight marks a milestone of our cause! The White Fang will finally execute one of its primary oppressors, Asche Schnee, the head of the Schnee Dust company!" I heard Adam declare, making the crowd burst into cheers.

"Now, we shall usher in a new age of prosperity for the Faunus!"

"Fuck your prosperity!" I screamed, forming two extremely large, multi pointed curved blades with my Semblance.

Adam and Blake turned to me, eyes widening in shock.

"How are you still alive!" he snarled, hand going to his sword.

"Cause I'm a fucking badass that's why!" I jeered back at him.

He turned to his underlings. "Attack that human!" I heard him order.

A hundred White Fang made their way to eviscerate me. I wasn't worried, however. The power coursing through my body made me feel untouchable.

Invincible.

Before they could gain any ground on my position, I crossed my arms and let loose two horizontal slashes with my large blades. Instead of merely just slashing them, however, both blades released a large shockwave of power upon contact with the line of White Fang, blowing the ones I contacted back to the walls, while everyone else was forced to brace for impact.

Adam was forced onto one knee while Blake was blown all the way back to the wall. I reversed my grips on the swords and willed gauntlets of aura to appear on my hands. I surged forward, swinging my right arm into the horde of White Fang, cutting their forces down to only a few dozen. With my other arm I unleashed another slash, hitting bodies with either the blade of my sword or with the front of my gauntlet. Just like that, only a dozen of the strongest White Fang remained.

"Just who are you!?" I heard Adam growl in utter frustration that his forces were wipe out just like that. His remaining underlings charged at me but before they reached my position, I stabbed my swords into the ground, making a defensive shockwave, making them roll and stumble away. It managed to completely deplete all of their auras, none of them preparing for another attack. On some of their faces, I saw not just fear, but some sort of primal horror, their masks broken, eyes tearing up, face contorted in dread.

I took a step forward, making some of them scramble away.

I attacked Adam at full force, forcing him to draw his sword and block my attacks. I was easily able to overwhelm his power several times, cutting into his aura considerably.

"I am ripper." I sent forward a powerful diagonal strike that he was barely able to redirect in time.

"Tearer!" I continued with my other sword, ramming into his ribs and sending him sliding to the side.

"Slasher!" I turned towards him and brought both of my swords down in perpendicular diagonal strikes.

"GOUGER!" I let go of my swords, letting them dissipate into the air. I dashed towards him before he could possibly react reached up to his face, tearing his mask off.

"AGHH!" I heard him scream in agony. He unleashed a powerful strike with his sword but I intercepted it above my head, grabbing it with my hands. Instead of slicing through, my gauntlets let me grip his chokuto tightly, not letting it move

Adam struggled to gain control of his weapon once again to no avail. I held it firm in my grasp. "I am the teeth in the darkness, the talons in the night!" In an act of desperation, he kicked my torso, forcing me back a few feet, unfortunately making me let go of his sword.

I formed my own two chokutos in my hands. "Mine is strength... and lust... and POWER!" I leapt up high into the air, arms behind my head, preparing for an overhead strike against Adam. I brought my glowing swords down upon him. He met it with his partially sheathed weapon, releasing yet another shockwave through the room. He was attempting to absorb my power, but I kept pushing on.

I heaved into him, making him step back and fall down to one knee. "I AM ABEL!" With one last attempt to overwhelm him, I pushed, shattering his sword.

"ARGHHH!" he screamed in agony. My swords soon met his body, obliterating his aura and propelling him into the wall behind him, leaving a visible crater on it. He slid down, kneeling back on the broken wall. I dissipated my swords and pulled out a normal metal knife from inside my suit. I lifted his neck up and laid the blade on it.

"D-do it, kill me." He rasped out. Before I could grant him his wish, I heard a commotion from behind me, footsteps coming up behind me.

A large number of footsteps sounded from behind me. Before I could suspect that it was more White Fang, I heard Qrow shout from behind me."That's enough, Abel!" I loosened my grip a bit, but still held my knife against Adam's neck.

"How'd you guys get out?" I questioned, looking over my shoulder at them.

"The Valean military have arrived and incapacitated the White Fang operative responsible for creating the barrier," I heard Qrow report.

Besides him was Winter, gawking at the absolutely destroyed lobby. "What on Remnant could have caused such... such obliteration!"

All of the eyes turned to me. Hunters and huntresses filled the lobby, taking in the destruction around me. Some of them went to detain the White Fang that were knocked out because of me.

I sighed, "I did. I unlocked my Semblance and it helped me take care of the White Fang."

Qrow spoke up, "What kind of Semblance allows you to even come close to doing this?"

"No," I answered him. "I can materialize blades and other weapons with my Aura."

His red eyes widened slightly. "Damn kiddo, that's an insane semblance you have there. I'm not looking forward to report thing to Ozpin."

I turned back to Adam and saw that he was laughing. "Are you going to do it or what!?" he taunted me.

"Don't do it kid, you're just going to give him what he wants," Qrow warned. My grip on the weapon tightened. I could see his lips turn into a twisted smile. I pushed down a little, managing to create a line of blood.

"Do it!" Adam shouted. I slashed the knife. Instead of drawing blood, it was lodged in the wall right next to his neck.

"I won't make a martyr out of you, Adam." I declared. I needed to take care of the other White Fang, namely- Blake!

I looked around frantically, checking to see where she was. A black blur sped out from around the corner and shouldered Adam's downed form and jumped outside the nearest window.

"ADAM!" I screamed. I tried to run after them, but Qrow clamped my shoulder tightly and just shook his head slowly.

"Let it go, kiddo."

"I can't! They're just gonna terrorize more and more innocents!" I protested.

"Not like that he won't. We can strike him down while he's weak. The White Fang have already taken a massive blow cause of you," he claimed.

"If we let them go, they'll just be back! They know my face, they're gonna do anything it takes to get to me. I can't let anyone else get hurt. Not like Emelie. Not like Julius..." I stammered out, facing the ground. I didn't care about whatever was happening around me. I was entrenched in the past, memories playing like I was having a Vietnam War flashback.

Qrow broke me out of my trance, "Let it go, Abel. I know that your past was... troubled to say the least, and you made your mistakes. But you can't let that get to you. You're gonna go far, Abel, but if you can keep learning, if you can keep moving forward."

I looked over my shoulder at him, glazing at him for a bit before finally giving up. "... fine Qrow." I loosened my muscles and stopped struggling against Qrow's grip. After he noticed that, he let go of me.

A sudden weakness overtook me, making me fall forward. Instead of the ground, however, my head fell on someone's shoulder, arms gently helping me stay up. I could barely see the pink hair from my position.

"... thanks Neo," I slurred tiredly into her shoulder. I couldn't see it but I felt her head nod. I fought my hardest to stay awake, but the fatigue was too much.

 _'Rest, child. There is much more ahead of you.'_

Sleep overtook me, sending me into the realm of Morpheus.

* * *

"Ozpin, I think we need to tell him, if not now, soon," I spoke into my scroll.

"Qrow, are you absolutely positive that Abel can be trusted with this type information?" Ozpin questioned, brows furrowed.

"If not all of it, at least some if it. His skills surpasses that of most veteran hunters and you know that the enemy we're at war against isn't some Grimm. Abel isn't a Grimm slayer, but I can tell you he's experienced enough to deal with more human threats," I explained.

"I'm afraid it's either we tell him everything, or tell him absolutely nothing. But, I would like an explanation on _how_ exactly he has acquired the skills you have spoken of. I played coy when you first brought him to me, but I know there was something more that boy had hidden underneath his exterior. The way he carried himself, the look in his eyes. He walked as if he both was paranoid of threats coming for him but that he was confident enough to properly deal with them."

"What did you see in him, Oz? What made him so interesting that you didn't pry any further?" I asked.

"They say the eyes are the gateway to the soul. Qrow, when I looked into his eyes, I saw not a boy who was scarred by an unfortunate incident, let alone a normal teenager."

"He is no normal kid, that's for sure."

Ozpin continued, "I saw a man that's seen war, that has seen more blood than both you and I have seen. They're calculating and hard, empty of happiness but filled with determination. The odd thing is, there hasn't been a war that's seen true bloodshed in years. Do you know what I saw, Qrow?"

"What Oz?"

"The eyes of a trained killer. The eyes of someone that is willing to do anything it takes to protect what he holds dear. He is no hunter of Grimm, but rather, one of man."

* * *

 **A/N: First, please note that Abel's 'normal' power level from here on out will not come close to the power he wielded against Adam. That was only due to the amount of stress he's undergone as well as supernatural aid from Raziel. However, it won't be the only time he'll be depicted with said power. Suffice to say, weapons aren't the only things he can make with his aura, but that will be reserved for veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy far down the line in the most dire of circumstances.**

 **If you didn't know it then, Abel's semblance is based off of SCP-076's most distinct power, summoning bladed weapons out of a pocket dimension. I will be limiting Abel's semblance to weapons for now, while other things will come to him with much more difficulty and much more training.**

 **After this, his semblance will be downgraded into basically what SCP-076's weapon summoning power is. Without Raziel's help, however** **, he'll definitely struggle with creating weapons at first. This sounds a lot like Velvet's weapon, albeit it seems a lot more broken. However, take note that at the end of the day, Velvet's semblance basically makes up for what Abel lacks: experience and style. Abel is more used to pistols and knives. He'll have to learn swordsmanship and a lot more if he's to make full use of his semblance, while Velvet's semblance basically makes her RWBY's Sharingan no Kakashi. Abel is going to be very susceptible to the motto, "Jack of all trades, master of none."**


End file.
